A Dragon Rises
by Wacko12
Summary: What if something change when Tatsumi was on Mt. Fake? A new change of events makes our young hero remain with the Jaegers and Esdeath as a spy for Night Raid. Along with that he gains a new power not seen since 500 years ago and discovers his roots that span from over 1,000 years ago. And a dark force rises which threatens both the Empire and the Revolutionary and changes history.
1. Kill the Chance

**Okay so this is my first Akame Ga Kiru fanfic so please go easy on me! Also Tatsumi will be getting a new Teigu but at the same time won't be losing Incursio. You'll have to see what I mean so read, enjoy and review. Also if you have any advice to give that would be appreciative, except for flaming. Mostly I could use some hints for the parts between Tatsumi and Esdeath since romances are not my area of strength. Anyway on with the story!**

**(Unknown Location and Time)**

Darkness and silence, that's all that could be seen.

That is all that he could remember upon being created.

How much longer will he have to see this darkness and hear this silence?

_Awaken_

What?

_The time has come. Fulfill you're duty._

Time? Duty?

Yes, his duty, his purpose of living.

Everything comes back to him now.

His reason for living

The oath he swore to the person whom he admired.

"_You…they were created to protect my kingdom, my people. But if should they fall into evil hands. Should they be corrupted and turned into tools that harm those I swore to protect, I entrust you, my dear friend and companion, to purge those whom would harm my legacy and people."_

The last time he heard those words from that man.

More noises began to vibrate throughout the darkness.

And slowly the darkness turns to light.

Hands could be seen reaching forward and feet could be heard moving.

It was time to begin his mission.

**(Present Time, Mt. Fake, Tatsumi and Wave)**

"You know I didn't want to say it back at the capital…" The young man Wave said to Tatsumi. The two were currently patrolling the valley that day. "But you sure have it rough. Being the Commander's eye candy and all."

Tatsumi could only agree silently, though he wasn't full focus on the conversation. His mind was planning a strategy or two of how to escape now that he had the chance. Yesterday and last night had been a blur for the young man. One moment he had been competing in a tournament to earn money for his village and the next he was "claimed" by Esdeath, the most sadistic and strongest General of the Empire, as her lover. It didn't help the fact that she was very beautiful and her words of comfort and love she gave to him last night tempted him to stay. It was only thanks to Lady Luck that she had decided to take him on patrol, along with two members of the Jaegers, one being Wave and the other named Kurome, a young girl who was actually the younger sister of fellow Night Raid member Akame.

'_It's still so hard to believe how similar they are.' _Tatsumi thought to himself, remembering how much Kurome looked like her sister, along with her gluttonous behavior concerning food, another trait the sisters shared. He was just glad he was paired with Wave. Losing him should be much easier then under the watchful eye of Esdeath, whom Tatsumi was to pair with in the evening. He had to escape now before that happened.

"If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here for you know." Wave offered friendly.

Tatsumi paused in mid-step as he took a glance at the naval man. Partially because he had been so wrapped around his thoughts that hadn't been paying attention to Wave and the other was that Tatsumi didn't expect the man's openness. In fact now that Tatsumi thought about it, the majority of the members in the Jaegers were actually kind, subtracting their own unique quirks. He and Wave were a lot similar in some ways that it made Tatsumi wonder if the two could've been allies if the current state of the Empire wasn't so bad and was in need of change from corruption.

However such a thing was impossible now, were Tatsumi's thoughts as he shook his head, much to Wave's confusion. Not to make the man suspicious, Tatsumi offered Wave a thankful smile. "Thanks for the offer… but I'm okay really. In fact I'm use to this kind of stuff." Tatsumi said politely as the two resumed their walk.

Wave chuckled, scratching his cheek nervously. "Yeah so I can tell. In fact I feel like you and I are quite similar!" He commented. Seeing Tatsumi's confusion he elaborated. "Well…how should I put this? It's like we have the same kind of problems…"

Suddenly Wave bowed his head, images of several troublesome individuals appearing. As if seeing it, Tatsumi also bowed his head, the more overly affectionate female members of Night Raid coming into mind. It was clear as day that the two men shared the exact same problems.

"Er, yeah I think I understand what you mean," Tatsumi said as he raised his hand to stop Wave. "In fact you don't even have to say it since I probably have it worse then you."

"No way!" Wave said dramatically. "I have it ten times worse!"

Before either knew it both boys were laughing easily. However that ended when Tatsumi's eyes widened and he began drawing Incusrio's blade. Wave noticed this and sported a confused look on his face. "Eh, Tatsumi what are…?"

Wave's sentence was cut off when Tatsumi dashed past him with incredible speed, cutting down the danger beast that was ready to pounce on the naval soldier. Wave could only watch with a look in his eyes that was a combination of awe and shock. But that was short lived as more danger beasts, all of them looking similar to trees, popped up and surrounded the two young men.

"Man that was a close one." Wave said as he stood back to back with Tatsumi. Still the dark blue hair young man had a smile on his face. "Thanks! I owe you one!"

"Don't mention it." Tatsumi said with a smile before realization of what he did hit him. _'Huh? Why did I save him even though we're enemies? It was on pure instinct…'_

"Well you're no sea beasts." Wave said, snapping Tatsumi out of his thoughts. The young man already pulled out his own sword, a customized cutlass that looked similar to Incursio's sealed form. "Guess that means you aren't edible!"

The two remarkably made quick work of the group of danger beasts. Despite having just met, Tatsumi had to admit that he and Wave worked well together. Even though they fought against through the danger beast-tree lookalikes, the lowest group of danger beast that worked in groups, the two men taking them down with ease. Still this was no time to get distracted, as Tatsumi knew that this was the perfect chance to escape and return to Night Raid.

But any attempts of doing so were thwarted as just after killing the last danger beast, a large shadow fell over Tatsumi. The young man hadn't noticed until the last second as a large hand came down upon him. Shocked, Tatsumi turned around and managed to dodge a hand but felt a change in the atmosphere. On instinct, he barely had enough time to raise Incursio to block an oncoming blow. In that brief moment of impact Tatsumi bared witness, to his shock and horror, as Incursio's blade _snapped_ in two by the unknown force. He had little time to stay shock as he was soon sent flying sideways down the mountainside.

"Tatsumi!" Wave yelled as he saw his companion being smacked aside with ease. Wave then turned to glare at the newcomer. Said person was a male and around the same size as Bols with a muscular build hidden underneath a dark green mandarin robes with extremely long sleeves that reached his ankles. Underneath that he wore purple baggy pants and black boots. But what caught Wave's attention was that the man, who had spiky black hair, wore large green goggles over his eyes, complete with a forest green mask covering the lower portion of his face with two small protrusions sticking out.

"Who the hell are you?" Wave demanded as he raised his weapon and got into a fighting stance. He wasn't taking any chances with this guy.

The person did not respond. Instead he waved his arms outwards and suddenly Wave's instincts went up. He immediately jumped out of the way just as an unseen force pulverized the spot he was in. _'To do something like that…he must have a Teigu!'_ Wave thought as he landed a bit away from his opponent. He took a glance towards the mountainside, wondering about Tatsumi. _'I should go and save Tatsumi but this guy will most definitely take that opportunity to attack me. The Commander and Kurome are nowhere nearby so I guess dealing with this bastard comes first.'_

With that in mind Wave put his sword forward before slamming the blade into the ground in front of him. "I'll make this quick! Grand Chariot!" Wave yelled as a large black creature manifested behind him. The creature leaned forward towards the young man and soon engulfed him in a black, full-body armor with a black-winged shape cape behind it.

Without even waiting Wave lunged forward towards the mask man with inhuman speed. He then aimed a punch at his opponent's face. However the man easily avoid the attack before delivering one of his own. Once more he released an unseen force that struck Wave in the chest, sending the young man skidding backwards. Fortunately Wave's armor protected him from taking serious damage. Wave had little time to recover as his opponent released a barrage of invisible attacks, waving his left arm wildly while doing so. Wave managed to dodge them thanks to his quick eye and the increase in speed given to him by Grand Chariot.

During his evasions Wave's eyes caught something. It was brief but for a single moment, he saw something long and bendable snap through the air. _'So he's not firing some kind of projectile. More like a whip of some sort.'_ Wave thought as he continued dodging. _'In that case all I have to do is grab it and with his weapon useless, I can finish him off.'_

With that in mind Wave kept his eyes open for a chance. After dodging several times he finally found one. With amazing speed and reflexes Wave reached out and snatched the fast-moving object. Doing so caused his attacker's left arm to stop abruptly. Wave looked and saw that in his hand was dark purple chain with a spear-tip blade in the shape of a serpentine-dragon at the end. _'So this is how he was able to break the ground! His arms move so fast when firing the chains that it looks like the air itself explodes.' _Wave concluded as he tightened his grip on the chain he held. _'Anyway I got him where I want him, so I'll finish him off and-'_

Wave's thoughts were cut off when something struck him in the chest. The impact made him lose his grip on the chain and sent him backwards. Wave fell on the ground butt first. "The hell was that?" Wave muttered as he looked up. When he did his eyes widened.

His opponent had both arms up now. Slithering out of his sleeves was a total of ten spear-tipped chains, five from each sleeve. All of them were hovering in the air, menacingly over Wave. His opponent was making a growling sound, though it was hard to tell if he was angry or not with the mask on. Either way Wave could only summarize the current situation with one word.

"Shit"

XXX

**(With Tatsumi)**

If he had been who he was before joining Night Raid, Tatsumi was one hundred percent sure he would be dead right now. It was thanks to his quick reflexes and vigorous training under Bulat that Tatsumi's body managed to endure and survive the fall down the mountainside. If he had raised Incrusio just a second too late-

Incursio! Tatsumi's eyes widened as he recalled what happened to the blade. Ignoring the pain through his body but letting out a groan, Tatsumi got up from his spot and frantically looked around for the Teigu. After a few seconds he spotted it just a few feet in front of him and what he saw broke Tatsumi's heart. For lying before him was Incursio's sealed form; a short sword with the blade currently split in two.

"Damn it all…" Tatsumi cursed as he gently held the two fragments in his hands. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes as he stared at the broken Teigu. The fact that a powerful weapon had been destroyed wasn't the cause for his anguish; no Tatsumi's pain was deeper. "Aniki…I'm sorry" Tatsumi muttered. He felt like he failed Bulat, the man whom entrusted him with Incursio, a man Tatsumi looked up to as an older brother. He felt like he failed his friends Ieyasu, Sayo and Sheele, all of them dead because of this corrupted Empire. Now Tatsumi felt absolutely powerless as his head fell in despair.

**'_Power'_**

Tatsumi's head snapped up, eyes wide at the sudden voice speaking. But as he scanned the area he found no one else but himself there.

**'_Need Power'_**

The voice was louder now and Tatsumi realized the voice was in his head. Then as if a beacon had become active, Tatsumi looked to his left and eyes widened when he spotted the wooden idol. The same idol the village elder had given him when he first began his journey with Ieyasu and Sayo. Putting down Incursio, Tatsumi picked it up and saw that it had cracked severely, most likely from the fall just now. And he saw that, as pieces of the idol fell apart, that it was hollow on the inside, despite never feeling like it was before.

Tatsumi's musings were cut short when he noticed a faint glow within the idol. Sticking his fingers in tentatively, Tatsumi pulled out the source of the glow. It was a golden-color bronze, octagon-shape gem, no bigger then his palm. The glow was now brighter as Tatsumi held it, marveling over its beauty. However no sooner as he took it out of the idol, the voice increased inside his head.

**'_Need More Power!'_**

Tatsumi actually winced this time at the now loud voice. Doing so caused him to drop the gem beside Incursio. When it touched the Teigu the two items began to glow as one, releasing a bright light that could be mistaken as a star almost. Tatsumi stared at the now glowing ball of light before him as the voice spoke once more. But this time the voice had gone down again but lost its firm tone and was now more lax and full of…realization.

"Power…" Tatsumi murmured to himself. Subconsciously his hands slowly made their way towards the small sphere of light, as if trying to grasp it. Yes he needed power. The very word brought back a sensation he felt several times over the past few weeks. It came first when he killed Aria. And then again when he fought and slew Ogre. Or when he fought Zank the Executioner, the sensation was there during that time too. It was only when he fought against the Three Beasts and was entrusted by Bulat to wield Incursio did Tatsumi begun to notice this sensation.

It was a desire, a will of his very soul crying out for power!

"Power to stop deaths of innocent." Tatsumi said, as he seemed to grip something within the light. "Power to protect my friends, power to slay the evil men who oppress the people, the power to bring down this corrupted Empire!"

As he said these words like a chant, the light glow brighter and brighter that one would have become blinded by such brightness. But for Tatsumi it was like he could see for the very first time. And then the voice returned once more, but no longer spoke one or two words this time.

'_**Yes and power is what you shall have warrior!'** _The voice said louder then ever, coming from not just Tatsumi's head, but from the sphere of light and even from his own soul.** _'That power is me! The power to slay the darkness with a mighty blade! Now say it! Say the name of my, your, our power! Say my name WARRIOR!"_**

Heeding the voice's command Tatsumi, with a burning fire in his emerald eyes and a strength he had never felt before, raised his head high as he uttered a single word.

"IMPERATOR!"

XXX

**(Elsewhere)**

"I would not eat that Kurome." Esdeath said.

Said girl had a hungry look in her eyes as she stared at the frozen carcass of a large lizard-like creature with three rows of spikes on its back and what looked like a make-shift flail at the end of its tail. "The Beta-Class Danger Beast, Rattle-Lizard, is extremely poisonous and not suitable for eating." The General added.

Kurome pouted and gave her leader a blank look, much to Esdeath's amusement. Nevertheless she backed away and began searching through the other Danger Beast corpses around them. Esdeath meanwhile sat down on a nearby rock surveying their work while her thoughts wandered back towards a certain brown-haired young man with green eyes.

Unlike Wave and Tatsumi's patrol route, Esdeath and Kurome found themselves against a great variety of Danger Beasts, though they were all below Alpha-Class. Still it was a good hunt for Esdeath and allowed her to see Kurome's Teigu in action. The sword, Yatsufusa, was just as powerful as she had heard. Already Kurome had an assortment of puppets under her control, many she had gain from her assassination missions. Esdeath was greatly impressed by the fact that Kurome had managed to require an Ultra Class Danger Beast, a Desta-Ghoul. It was rare to find one let alone kill.

However Esdeath's thoughts quickly shifted from that and back to anxiously awaiting for nightfall to come. That was when her plan would be put into action, to win Tatsumi's heart. It was at night when the more stronger and dangerous Danger Beasts appeared, Alpha-Class to be exact, the second most strongest under Ultra-class. When Tatsumi sees her slaying creatures of such strength then Esdeath will surely claim his heart. The mere image of his face, those beautiful greens eyes and that bright smile made an unfamiliar heat her rise throughout Esdeath's body.

Her thoughts were cut off when Kurome said her name. "Commander Esdeath, up there!" The usually stoic girl shouted. She was pointing towards something behind the blue haired woman.

Turning around Esdeath's eyes widened in surprise at the scene before her. Rising up from somewhere in the mountains was a beam of light, going so high that it went through the clouds in the sky. Even from where she was, the General could sense incredible power from the pillar. _'That's near where Tatsumi and Wave were patrolling!' _Esdeath thought as irrational fear began to build up in her. "Kurome, we're going to check it out." Esdeath said as she already began moving towards the light at an incredible speed, Kurome right behind her.

XXX

**(With Wave)**

"Ugh!" Wave cried as his armored covered body crashed into another wall of rock. He managed to recover quickly and dodge another barrage of chains that impaled the rock behind him.

His opponent was proving to be far more formidable then he had originally thought. Wave had managed to land a couple of good hits on the mask man, but said person didn't even seem to notice them, or just merely regenerated his wounds. Wave knew that in a situation like this it would be best to retreat. But he couldn't leave while Tatsumi was still down below, alive or dead Wave didn't know. So his only option was to incapacitate his enemy.

'_I can already tell the trajectory of those chains by now.' _Wave thought as he got back into a stance. _'If I can get up close and deliver a strong blow, it will be long enough for me to bind him.'_

With that in mind Wave charged towards his opponent, who launched another wave of chains from his hands. Thanks to his armor's enhancements, Wave was able to dodge the chains hurdling his way as he got closer and closer. After getting close enough Wave suddenly disappeared, much to his opponent's surprise. However in truth Wave had merely used his increased speed to get behind the larger man, intending of landing a devastating dropkick from the rear. _'I got him!'_ Wave exclaimed as his opponent did not turn around yet.

But just as he neared him, the mask man swung his arms out wide and hundreds of chains shot out of his clothing in all directions. The surprise attack came to fast and Wave was forced to take a barrage of spear-tipped chains hitting him. His armor took much damage and as he was sent back it dissipated, returning to its sealed form beside Wave's feet. Said man was slightly bruised. While Grand Chariot had taken the damage for him, Wave was too exhausted now to keep the armor materialized any longer.

"Damn it all… to think he had a Trump Card." Wave cursed as he struggled to get up. He looked forward and saw his opponent turned towards him. The chains already receded and the holes in his suit having already been mended somehow. With wave down, the mask man charged towards him quickly, hand raised and prepared to deal the final blow.

But before it could even be delivered a voice from nearby shouted, "IMPERATOR!" And a pillar of light shot out from the mountainside until it reached the sky. Wave and his enemy looked at in a state of shock and awe, clearly feeling the power coming from whatever created the pillar. Anyone currently walking in Mt. Fake would be able to see this magnificent sight.

A minute later the pillar vanished and all became silent. Then as if intentionally breaking that silence a blur shot upwards in front of Wave and the mask man. Before either could react, the latter received a large gash across his chest. Unlike Wave's attacks, this one apparently hurt as the mask man screeched in pain, holding the wound with his hands as if he would split in two because of it. Wave was again left in shock before looking over at the one responsible.

Said person was around his height and wore a dark, skin-tight full body suit, that could be seen a little bit under the armor that covered his entire body and had the appearance of dark grey scales that only enhanced its reptilian and savage look, dragon-like almost. Between each scale were silver color lines that also went around the edges of the armor. What looked a pair of talons were over the feet with a large single talon protruding from the back of the heel. Both retracted with the formers on the top of the feet while the latter leaned against the back of the legs, looking like normal feet now. The gauntlets on the arms also had claws on the fingers.

The pauldrons had small dragon horn-like protrusions of the same grey but with a metallic purple tip sticking out from them The chest plate that originally only covered the chest was now attached to another plate that covered the torso. It sported ten silver lines that converged onto an octagon-shape emblem at the center of the chest. Wrapped around the neck while also draped over the shoulders and chest was a dark blue cloak while the inside was red. It had jagged edges and went down to his ankles. It also possessed a white fur collar.

The helm, while still bearing some resemblance to Incursio's, now had more of a dragon-like look to it. It sported a pair of silver horns that protruded from the sides of the head. The horns had metallic purple tips at the end and looked like they could skewer whatever they pierced too. On the top of the helmet was a single row of spikes going across the center of the helm. There were also three spikes coming out from both cheeks too. Over the mouthpart were dragon-like teeth shut together. And finally from the eyeholes, which were at first pitch black, now glowed bright yellow eyes where, if you looked carefully, could see plus-shaped pupils. Thus it looked like the face of a real dragon.

As he looked at the armored man and hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Tatsumi?"

The person did not reply. Instead he shot back towards the mask man, said person still moaning in pain. Raising his right hand, a shortsword with a silver blade materialized in it and gripping the blade, the armored man delivered another lightning-fast slash on the mask man's chest, forming an X in the process. The mask man screams again but this times tries to counter by launching his chains from his right hand. However the armored man easily dodged them by performing a leap into the air. In the air, with a wave of his hand, he summoned five more swords from nothing. With another wave he launched the swords at the mask man, each blade striking somewhere on his body, mainly the shoulders, left knee and right arm.

Letting out a roar of defiance, the mask man used his Trump Card that he had used on Wave. Hundreds of spiked chains shot out of his body everywhere with a few heading towards the armored being. But the person merely raised his right hand and suddenly the five swords impaled in the mask man flew out back towards their master, with an additional five swords appearing. A total of ten now, the short swords were hovering in the air between the armored man and the oncoming chains. Then the blades began spinning in the air as they easily deflected the chains away from the armored being, cutting them into pieces doing so. Both Wave and the Mask Man could only look on in stun silence as the ten swords disappeared before being replaced by a single long sword that the armored man grabbed.

And finally with another demonstration of incredible speed, the armored man appeared behind the mask man, sword pointing straight and away from him. Wave was confused at first before the mask man let out one more loud screech as a third large gash appeared on him, going vertically. A bit of his mask was chipped off along with a decent amount of blood following it as he fell to his knees. The young naval man was surprised the mask man hadn't died of blood loss yet.

Wave watched as the armored man stood where he stopped, not saying a word. Suddenly the sword in his hand dispersed into light followed shortly by the armor as it retracted towards the chest area. Once done all that were left was a sword that fell to the ground and Tatsumi. Said person had an exhausted look on his face, like he was about to collapse any second now. And to prove it the green eyed, brown hair young man began leaning forward and would have hit the ground if Wave hadn't suddenly appeared, grabbing his companion.

"Hey, hey! Tatsumi! Are you alright?" Wave asked, concerned for his comrade who remained unresponsive. Fortunately, after checking his pulse, Wave concluded that Tatsumi was alive but unconscious; clearly the strain of the armor was too much for him. Wave also took notice of what looked like yellow markings over Tatsumi's body that glowed briefly before disappearing. But his musings were cut short when the young naval man heard a hissing sound from behind. Turning around Wave looked on in shock as the mask man got up again, a bit clumsy but still appeared to be alright.

'_Are you telling me that after taking all that damage he still isn't dead?!'_ Wave thought in shock as he placed Tatsumi's unconscious form on his back, holding him with one hand while the other held his sword.

The person, his mask partially shattered and revealing a right eye that was completely white, glared at the two young men with pure hatred. "IMPERATOR!" The mask man roared as he lunged at Wave and Tatsumi…

…Only to be stopped by a pillar of ice that popped out of the ground in between him and his prey. The ice knocked the mask man back, the man surprised by its appearance.

But Wave instantly recognized this power and who it belonged too. Sure enough said person appeared, landing gracefully before him followed by another. "Commander!" Wave said in relief.

Esdeath gave no verbal response of acknowledgment. But she did turned her head to look at him and Tatsumi, though her eyes were more focus on the latter, who was still unconscious and was being supported by Wave. The sight of the man who captured her heart wounded summoned a primal rage inside the Empire's Strongest. She turned her head back to the mask man who had just gotten back up.

"I have to admit that you are quite bold for laying a hand on my subordinates." Esdeath began as she casually made her way forward while Kurome stayed back with Wave. The blue haired beauty drew her rapier as her killing intent leaked out, dark intentions going through her of what she had planned for the person who attacked her lover. "We'll have to see if you have the same resolve back in the torture chamber."

The lone revealing eye of the mask man widened as he saw the most dangerous person in the Empire. Combined with the angry look on her face that could scare a Danger Beast, he knew that his chances of winning were zero. What was a simple capture mission involving the knocked out brunette young man ended up with him facing the infamous Esdeath. In his current state retreat was his only option now. With that in mind the mask man flung his right arm backwards, firing a chain that extended a great distance before it impaled itself into a part of the valley away from his position.

Seeing this, Esdeath attempted to trap him by freezing his legs but the mask man moved faster. The chain began to retract but this time pull the mask man to it, making him fly backwards and away from the blue haired general. As Esdeath watched him fly off she made a "tch" sound before sheathing her rapier. Still with the man gone she could focus on more pressing matters.

Before either Kurome or Wave react, Esdeath had snatched Tatsumi from the latter. She laid his unconscious form down with unnatural caring, placing his back against a rock for support. She checked him over quickly and was relieved to see no serious wounds and that he was merely exhausted.

After a few seconds Esdeath got up, back straight, and turned her gaze towards Wave. This time they had a look of concentration and seriousness, all signs of an officer of her stature. "Wave, tell me what happened here." She ordered, voice full of authority.

"Yes Ma'am!" Wave replied, getting stiff. The next few minutes Esdeath and Kurome listened in as Wave described about what had transpired, from him and Tatsumi fighting a group of Danger Beast, the mysterious mask man attacking, Tatsumi appearing wearing armor in what was obviously a Teigu, him easily dispatching the mask man and when the general and the assassin appeared. "The mask guy also said something just before you arrived too. I think it was 'Imperator' or something." Wave added at the end.

Imperator. The word sounded familiar to Esdeath as she began to ponder where she heard it. She pieced together what Wave had just told her to help her remember. Then it began to click and her eyes widened slightly as she recalled the origin of that name. It couldn't be possible could it? That Teigu had been loss since the ending of the civil war 500 years ago. The chances of it being here of all places were slim to impossible. And yet if what Wave said was true…

"And where is this armor now?" Esdeath asked the former naval soldier.

"Eh…" Wave thought for a moment before remembering the sword that had appeared right after the armor vanished. "Actually it's right there." He said as he pointed towards the ground.

In said spot was indeed the sword Wave had seen before. As Esdeath walked towards it, Kurome and Wave behind her, got on one knee, she was able to inspect it better. The sword was a fine piece of work, befitting of a Teigu. It had the form of a claymore, having a bronze broad blade that was half the size of her rapier. It also had a metallic purple cruciform handle, with the handle being long enough for two hands. At the end of the handle, the pommel was a golden bronze color, contrast to the handle itself. The center of the guard was round with a silver pearl-shaped object in it. The blade itself was of the same color as the pommel, a bronze gold, emitting a glow of some sort as it reflected the sunlight. What caught Esdeath's interest however, were inscriptions printed on the blade. They were runes of some kind, most likely from an ancient culture over a thousand years ago, and she could not decipher them.

Extending her arm, Esdeath made to grab the handle. Then all of a sudden, as her fingers just brushed against it she recoiled as she experienced a brief pain, a shock almost, go through her hand. It was as if the sword rejected her or something. She and the two other onlookers then looked in surprise and as the blade glowed briefly before dispersing into light particles. They watched as the cloud of dust flew towards Tatsumi before merging with him, revealing the same yellow lines that Wave had seen before and then vanished again.

"What the hell was that?" Wave asked with a confused look on his face. Kurome also appeared puzzled by it but still maintained her stoic expression.

"I'm not sure" Esdeath replied, briefly looking at her right hand. There were a few burn marks from the contact with the handle, but none too serious that it would leave scars. "We will have to look into this later. For now let us return back to the capital, I believe we've done enough hunting for today." Esdeath said as she carefully picked up Tatsumi into her arms. She placed him against her back, secretly enjoying the warmth from the contact of their bodies.

"Yes Ma'am" Kurome and Wave replied before following after their beloved leader. Neither of them took noticed that they were being observed

A safe distance away, hiding carefully behind several rocks, Leone and Akame came into the light. Both had troubled and frustrated looks on their faces as they watched the three Jaegers carry their friend away. Leone, in her half-beast mode, gritted her teeth as her animal claws grinded against the stone. She then looked at the red-eyed girl. "So what now Akame?" Leone asked.

Said girl was conflicted. Thanks to Leone, they had easily acquired the information that Esdeath was going on a hunting trip this morning with two members of her group and her "lover". Leone had easily managed to acquire it, as if Esdeath's business wasn't all that important if common soldiers knew about it. With the boss away and so short of people in Nigh Raid, Akame had decided that she and Leone, two of their best trackers, would go to Mount Fake in hopes of finding Tatsumi. The good news was that they did but the bad news was that they had found him just a split second before Esdeath and Kurome arrived. The two assassins hid their presence as they watched Esdeath effortlessly chase off the mask man before the General checked on Tatsumi with unusual affection. Soon after she along with Akame's sister and the blue haired young man began their trek back to the capital, with Tatsumi resting against Esdeath's back.

Akame wanted to save Tatsumi, but the chances of her and Leone defeating both Esdeath and two other Teigu users were slim. Plus seeing her sister, Kurome, again after so long also rattled her nerves. As much as Akame hated it, they could not risk it, no matter how much the decision upset her.

"Let's return to base." Akame said with a tired sigh. "There's nothing we can do now. All we can hope for is another chance." She finished as she turned around and began heading back to base. Leone let out a silent curse as she reluctantly followed orders and joined Akame.

XXX

**(Later, Imperial Palace, Esdeath's Personal Room)**

He looked so peaceful, Esdeath thought to herself as she stared down at Tatsumi's sleeping form, lying on her bed.

She, Wave and Kurome had returned to the palace at a quick pace. She ignored the looks sent her way as she carried her sleeping lover over her back. Of course no one dared speak openly, even whisper, with fear of earning her wrath.

After confirming that Tatsumi had merely lost consciousness due to exhaustion of using his new Teigu, Esdeath had set him down in her room to sleep and recover. She made it clear to everyone, from her Jaegers to the Imperial Guards and any other occupants within the palace, that no one was to enter her room while Tatsumi was sleeping or else they would be seeing her in the torture chamber. Knowing her reputation, everyone wisely followed her instructions.

The reason was that she had something that she desperately needed to look up. For as much as she wanted to lie beside Tatsumi in their bed, the words that Wave had said caught her attention. One was finding the mask man who attacked Tatsumi and Wave but the first task was more related to the word Wave said. Esdeath was certain that she had heard the word 'Imperator' somewhere before and it was now that she recalled hearing it during her time when researching about the Teigu, back when she first became an officer, before even becoming a general.

So currently she was in the Imperial Library, scanning through all available material on the Teigu, anything with the name Imperator in it. In the beginning Esdeath found nothing, but after going through the fifth book did she finally find some information on her target. It was a small amount but enough to catch her interest as she began looking for more information. As she continued scrolling through every piece of history the more information she found out on the Teigu Imperator.

At the end of her search Esdeath closed the last book, her face full of what could only be a combination of shock, awe and excitement. For the Imperator was indeed a Teigu worth knowing, for it was the most powerful and famous Teigu in history, even greater then her Demon's Extract. And it only solidified her belief that Tatsumi was indeed destined for great things and the only man fit for her.

"The 47th Teigu" She murmured to herself in a tone of what one could say was reverence. "The Great Heavenly Dragon King: Imperator"

**And so there's my first chapter! Hope you all like that. If you have any advice, questions or suggestions then feel free to put them on a review or PM them. As I said before, this is my first fanfic with this series so any of you veterans with Akame Ga Kill fanfics are free to give some words of wisdom. This story was partially inspired by "Akame Ga Kill: The Alliance" and "Akame Ga Kill: Plan B" in certain areas. Also I like to thank Digitic520 for giving me his/her opinion of the making of this story.**

**Wacko12**


	2. Kill the Blade

**So I like to thanks to the people who have reviewed for enjoying this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter too. And remember to review!**

**(Afternoon, Mount Fake)**

Ratto continued moving through the valley at inhuman speed. His torn up mandarin robe flapped through the breeze as he ran and jumped over ledges, his wounds already healed. He had come close to dying just a while ago, against both Tatsumi and Esdeath, with the latter threatening to bring him to the torture chamber. Right now Ratto had to find a place to lay low and contact his master, as Esdeath would most likely have Imperial forces looking for him. His visible eye narrowed as he remembered the damage he took from Tatsumi, followed by a hissing sound from his throat that promised revenge.

His musings were cut short when he sensed a presence directly behind him. Spinning around, Ratto only had enough time to see who it was before a fist met his face. Upon contact the fist released a short but strong burst of energy that sent Ratto flying backwards, crashing into a nearby rock. Groaning, Ratto looked up to see his attacker.

The person was a large, muscular man, around the same height as Ratto in fact. He wore a long black trench coat that ended at his ankles and were tattered at the bottom and tied around the waist by a black belt that has a golden belt buckle. Sticking out of the coat was a black hood that covered the man's entire head and most of his face. The man also wore black trousers and black ornate leather boots with grey trims around the edges at the bottom. And finally over his hands were black leather gloves with what looked like grey metal plates over the back palm and the fingers. The right hand had a glow of bluish energy around it that slowly died down.

Without so much as a word, the hooded man charged forward, intending to land another blow. Reacting quickly, Ratto raised his left arm and fired five chains from his fingers, hidden under his sleeve. The spiked chains impaled the hooded man through the chest, halting his movements automatically. Ratto let out a howl of victory as he watched his opponent falter.

But that victory was short lived as the attacker simply grabbed the chains embedded into his body with his hands, before easily pulling them out, much to Ratto's shock. And before he could even compose himself the hooded man gave the chains a hard tug, causing Ratto to be pulled out of his crater and flying uncontrollable towards the man. Said person raised his left hand as it began to glow. A grey gauntlet had replaced the glove once the light died down. The gauntlet had golden spikes on the knuckles with a dark yellow skull on the back of the hand. Circling the skull was a red dragon with its mouth opened and looked like it was going to bite its tail.

What happened next was a blur. One second Ratto was flying straight towards his attacker and the next his body had been split in two from the waist down. His legs fell down into the ravine below, flailing wildly as if trying to grab a hold of something. The rest of Ratto fell on the ground directly behind the hooded man whose left hand was stretched forward with smoke emitting from the gauntlet. Remarkably, Ratto was still alive, albeit breathing heavily and blood gushing out from where his waist use to be. The mysterious attacker knew this and walked towards the down person, staring ominously with a pair of glowing red eyes under his hood.

Weakly, Ratto managed to raise his head. A look of fear could be seen in his eye as he stared at the hooded man. "I-I don't want to die…" He croaked, pleading.

The hooded man paid no heed to it however. With silence, he grabbed both of Ratto's arms and with a strong tug, ripped them off from the shoulder joints. Gushing blood followed after that as Ratto finally died, his opponent holding his trophy. With his work done the hooded man spun around and walked away, leaving the corpse behind to bake in the sun.

XXX

**(That Night, Imperial Palace, Esdeath's Room)**

Tatsumi was really starting to think that someone had set that window up to bother him. For it was letting in the moonlight, while not as bright as sunlight, bothered him. It struck him automatically, trying to bring him out the soft comfort of slumber. He recognized the room as Esdeath's due to the extreme comfort of the bed he was lying on and the window letting in the light that awoke him. Despite the comfort the bed had brought him it did nothing for the pain in his soul.

The past recent events were a blur to him; one moment he had been patrolling Mount Fake, and the next he was back in Easdeath's bed. That was enough to help Tatsumi realized the outcome of today. Anguish filled him at the fact that he was back to square one. Tatsumi knew that he had failed to escape and return to Night Raid. He was still in the clutches of the Empire and it was unlikely he would get another opportunity to escape. However for some reason he could not explain, Tatsumi remained strong, weakness of any kind wasn't something he could afford now if he wanted to get through this.

As if responding to his conviction, the yellow markings on his body began to glow again. Startled, Tatsumi sat up straight at the unusual sight before him. After a while Tatsumi calmed down as he stared at the markings. It didn't hurt but felt rather nice as he moved his arms and looked under his shirt. When he did he saw that the markings were converging on an octagon-shape pattern at the center of his chest. Curious Tatsumi briefly brushed his fingers against the marking.

Suddenly the claymore from before appeared in a flash of light straight into Tatsumi's outstretched hands. Startled Tatsumi dropped the sword, making it fall on the bed mattress with a light thud. After a few seconds he recovered from his shock and got into a sitting position as he picked up the sword by the handle. If the design and appearance of the sword wasn't enough, then the power Tatsumi could feel off of it gave a clear sign of what this weapon was.

"A Teigu…" Tatsumi murmured, recalling the voice in his head back at Mount Fake.

"A very powerful one at that." Esdeath's voice added from behind. Tatsumi jumped a bit, completely taken by surprise by her presence. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." She said.

"It's fine" Tatsumi said as he looked back at the sword again. "Do you know what this is?" He finally asked.

Esdeath sat down on the other side of the bead, wearing nothing but her usual nightwear that did little to hide her beauty. She switched between looking over Tatsumi's shoulder at the blade back to the young man's face. She had a content look in her eyes as she stared at both of them. "The forty-seventh Teigu" She began, her voice filled with passion and excitement. Her cold breath sent a shiver down Tatsumi's spine that for some reason felt good to the young man. "Imperator. The one who wields this Teigu is said to have mastery over all weapons. There is some truth in that as I have never seen a finer blade, even for a Teigu."

Tatsumi just stared at the blade in silent awe, marveling at the bronze golden metal. It felt so new to him but at the same time so familiar too. So engrossed he was towards the blade that he could barely make out Esdeath's words. But when he heard the last sentence Esdeath said Tatsumi suddenly blurted out, "The sword isn't the Teigu, just a manifestation."

"How do you know that?" Esdeath asked, both out of curiosity and wonder.

She had placed her hand on Tatsumi's back, gently rubbing it in circles with her slender fingers. To say that it did not feel good would be lying, but Tatsumi tried to not focus on them too much. Instead focusing on answering her question… and hating her.

"Back at the mountain, when I fell. An idol that my village elder gave me broke during my fall. I saw a bronze golden gem in it and when I took it out…it merged with my sword." Tatsumi explained. He felt something beat within him and for a brief moment the markings appeared on his body again before disappearing. "After that I blacked out."

"I see" Esdeath said calmly, taking it all in with relative ease, much to Tatsumi's surprise. It was as if there was nothing that fazed this woman. She just seemed content with the close proximity of their two bodies, relishing in the warmth from Tatsumi's body as it went up her fingers and through her body and soul. Especially when the markings appeared on his body. Though it was brief, she could feel the pulse of power from Tatsumi's body and it felt like an inferno that could melt even her ice.

"Did you find anything else about it?" Tatsumi asked. However the toll of this morning, combined with the emotional stress he was suffering, returned again and tired him greatly. He could already feel his eyelids drooping as he desperately tried to stay awake. The sword in his hands dissipated, as if trying to coax him to get some needed rest.

Apparently his tiredness was visible as Esdeath stopped her rubbing on his back before placing one hand on Tatsumi's head and the other on his shoulder. She soon pulled him into a loving embrace, his head resting against her cleavage. "I'll tell you in the morning. For now sleep." Esdeath said with unusual tenderness, relishing at the contact between their bodies as she gently moved her fingers through his brown hair, planting a kiss on the scalp.

To tired to argue, Tatsumi did just that as his eyes closed completely as he lied in the embrace of the Empire's Strongest. And unlike last night, Tatsumi was able to sleep peacefully in Esdeath's arms. Esdeath soon joined him in slumber, a content smile on her face.

XXX

**(Next Morning)**

Tatsumi once more awoke in Esdeath's bed. However unlike the last two times he woke up, he felt refresh and ready for the new day. He had a sense of relief and calmness in him, as if he wasn't in enemy territory. Tatsumi noticed that Esdeath was not in bed, though her alluring scent still remained.

It was then that he spotted a note on the bedside table with his name on it. Recognizing the handwriting of Esdeath's, Tatsumi picked up the piece of paper and read it.

'_Tatsumi, if you're already up then I wanted you to know the Jaegers are holding a meeting soon. Here is the location of the meeting room. Please come here as soon as you can. Esdeath'_

That's right; he was a "member" of the Jaegers in Esdeath's eyes. As he got up out of bed and cleaned himself up, Tatsumi remembered that both she and the rest of them were unaware that Tatsumi was in reality, a member of Night Raid; the very same group that the Jaegers were created to eliminate in the first place. If he ever got back to them then Tatsumi would be able to tell the others everything he learned about these Empire Teigu users. That would be very useful…information…

'_Wait a minute…'_ Tatsumi thought as realization hit him like a ton of bricks…or one of Bulat's fists. He had been so focus on getting back to Night Raid that he had not thought of other possible alternatives. How many could say that they had such a perfect opportunity to be on a dangerous unit on the opposite side of war? And better yet one that was under the command of a high ranking and dangerous General such as Esdeath? Maybe Tatsumi had been looking at this the wrong way: Instead of trying to escape, he should just stay! This would be the perfect chance to get a boatload of information that could be vital for the Revolutionary Army and bring an end to this corrupt Empire even quicker!

With that thought in mind Tatsumi had a bit more energy as he walked out in the halls towards the meeting room. There were still some variables in the way of this new plan. One was finding a way to get in contact with Najenda and the rest of Night Raid without arousing suspicion. The next was of course to master his new Teigu, Imperator. Tatsumi still wasn't sure of how to activate it yet, the first time he did it was on pure instincts and it felt a little bit like how he activated Incursio. All he knew that it formed an armor around him that was similar to Incursio, increasing his physical abilities as he recall. In fact now that he thought about it, Imperator felt a lot like Incursio in way; not-just abilities wise but in a deeper sense, like an advanced version or something. And according to Esdeath, Imperator allowed Tatsumi to have mastery of all weapons, whatever that meant. Still it was a pretty cool ability and Tatsumi was already a skilled swordsman. Tatsumi would have to ask Esdeath what else she managed to learn about it.

After a few turns left and right Tatsumi finally arrived to the meeting room. Said room was a fancy dinning room to be exact, and Tatsumi was momentarily taken in by the setting of the place. He also noted that there were only two other people there as well. One of them was Wave, whom had yet to notice his presence and the other one was…

'_Seyru!'_ Tatsumi thought, the word coming out as a hiss in his mind as he stared at the orange haired girl, sitting on the opposite side of Wave at the large table. The happy, wide smile on her face further increased the rage in the brunette, memories of Sheele's kind smile and warm embrace appearing. The desire for revenge against the psychotic justice seeker was reaching a boiling point. Reacting to his strong emotions the yellow lines on his body began to show again and the air around him began to warp slightly, blades beginning to form.

"Yo, Tatsumi!" Wave said. "You look like you slept well."

The naval man's voice brought Tatsumi back into reality and immediately his dark thoughts vanished. Remembering what Bulat told him about controlling his emotions, Tatsumi managed to rein in his anger, thus the symbols on his body faded too. "Yeah the sleep really helped me recover from that whole ordeal yesterday." Tatsumi said as he sat down beside the dark blue haired man, not wanting to sit beside Seryu, less his murderous thoughts arise again.

"Where is everyone by the way?" Tatsumi asked as he noticed that only the three of them were currently in the room. It couldn't have been that early as the clock in the room said it had just turned noon.

"Ah well the meeting got put on hold since the Commander was preoccupied with some other stuff. We're actually early to be exact, I arrived here an hour ago with Seryu coming here 30 minutes ago and you coming right now." Wave explained as said girl was playing with her biological Teigu, Koro.

Thankfully Tatsumi did not have to wait long for the others to arrive. Five minutes later Bols came in and gave a quick greeting to everyone before sitting across from Tatsumi and Wave at the far edge of the table. After him both Kurome and Run entered the room, the former sitting on the other side of Wave while Run sat directly across from Tatsumi, reading his book. Then it was Dr. Stylish who entered, giving a cheerful wave to everyone before eventually sitting right next to Seryu. Tatsumi couldn't help but noticed that the mad scientist was eyeing everyone in the room like he was trying to figure out who would be his next test subject.

And finally Esdeath entered the room. Her stature emitted strength and authority so that everyone's attention was now on their leader walking towards them. With trained eyes, Esdeath scanned the room and was pleased to see all of the Jaegers here, and was delighted to see Tatsumi here as well, her blue eyes lingering on him a bit longer. Not that anyone noticed since she quickly began speaking.

"I am please to see that you are all here. I apologize for moving our meeting back so suddenly. There were some pressing matters regarding movements of our borders that came up abruptly, which I had to attend to." Esdeath explained.

When no one responded she continued. "Today's meeting is more about getting to know our enemies better: Nigh Raid."

Tatsumi tensed though he managed to control himself. Thankfully no one noticed, paying more attention to Esdeath as she kept talking. "Being an experience hunter myself I prefer to know a bit about my prey beforehand. As such I have required these." Esdeath finished as she passed out several files across the table for all to see. "This is the current information on the members of Night Raid and their Teigu."

"I recall hearing that one of them was killed a while ago." Run said as he skimmed through his copy.

"Yes the member called Sheele." Esdeath replied. "She wielded the Teigu, Cutter of Creation: Extaste, which is now currently in our possession. Thanks to Seryu over here." The General commented as she gestured towards said girl. Seryu just smiled with her cheeks tinted red at the compliment from one that she admired the most. The sight made the rage inside Tatsumi boil again but he managed to control it once more.

"Besides her the only other members of Night Raid we know about are Akame" Kurome's eyebrow twitched at her sister's name. "Who wields the One-Cut Killer: Murasame. Bulat, known as 100 Man Slayer Bulat, who wields the Teigu, Demon Armor: Incursio. Najenda, the leader of Night Raid and a former General, she wields no Teigu that we know about. And recently a girl named Mine who we've confirm wields the gun Teigu, Roman Artillery: Pumpkin." Esdeath said.

Tatsumi was a bit surprise that the Empire still thought that Bulat was alive. But now that he thought about it, he was the only survivor during the battle against the Three Beasts on the cruise line. So it would make sense that no one knew that Tatsumi currently wielded Incursio, or its new form Imperator to be precise. He felt relieved that they still thought Aniki was alive, put any suspicion off of him.

"I can't imagine that this is all of them. Though I doubt they have a large number either." Bols commented off-handily.

"That is true Bols." Esdeath replied. "According to the information I acquired, all the members beside Najenda are Teigu users. So while its doubtful that it is only these four people we can assume that they cannot have any more then seven or eight members."

"But shouldn't we focus more on locating their base? We really can't do anything unless we find where they're hiding." Wave said. Those words made Tatsumi feel relieved knowing that his friends were safe so long as they kept themselves hidden.

"Indeed, so for the time being we'll just have to wait on standby until we can figure out where their little nest is." Esdeath said. She was cut off by a knock at the door and seconds later a soldier walked in and saluted at his superior officer. "Yes what is it?" Esdeath ordered.

"Ma'am! As ordered last night we patrolled Mount Fake for the assailant who attacked Jaeger members Wave and Tatsumi." The soldier said.

This caught both Tatsumi and Wave by surprise. They hadn't expected Esdeath to be searching for the man who attacked them yesterday. But it would make sense to try and find someone who would attack two members of the unit led by the infamous Empire's Strongest.

"Hoh, so you found him?" Esdeath asked in dark voice, sadistic thoughts running through her mind on how to punish the man whom tried to hurt Tatsumi.

Gulping a bit at her voice and dark look in her eyes, the solider quickly replied, "Well to be more precise, we found his body…what's left of it. The men have already set it up in the autopsy room for you to inspect Esdeath-sama."

Tatsumi was surprised that the person who attacked him yesterday was dead. It seems like Esdeath was too though she quickly hid it before anyone else could see the expression. "Very well I will be there shortly." She said. The soldier saluted and left.

Esdeath then turned to face the other Jaegers. "Well that is all for now. For the time being you all have the day off to do what you want. Though I advised honing your skills for future conflicts and to remain vigilant if we're call for action. Everyone but Tatsumi is dismissed. I want talk to you more about your new Teigu." This caught the attention of several people, particularly a certain mad scientists. But no one said anything. "Dr. Stylish I would like for you to meet me in autopsy." She said.

Everyone stood up and promptly said "Ma'am" with Tatsumi reluctantly following. Bols and Run were the first two out, both of them going separate ways. After them Seryu skipped out of the room and, to Tatsumi's relief, Dr. Stylish followed her. That guy gave him the chills. Finally Wave and Kurome walked side by side, with the sailor trying to snatch one of Kurome's snacks as said girl managed to avoid each attempt with ease. All that left were Tatsumi and Esdeath. Tatsumi began to feel uncomfortable relatively quick with just the two of them in the same room.

Not being able to take the silence any longer Tatsumi opened his mouth…only for it to be cut off as his face was shoved into Esdeath's cleavage. The blue haired beauty and pulled him into a hug too fast for him to react. As she clutched him tightly, oblivious to his struggling to breathe, she said, "I knew you were destined for great things! The moment I looked up Imperator I knew it!" She cooed finally able to release her pent-up affections and joy for the apple of her eye.

"Wait! What are you talking about?!" Tatsumi cried as his arms flailed wildly, trying to free himself from Esdeath's grasp, before he died of lack of oxygen.

Finally Esdeath pushed Tatsumi back, allowing him to breathe in air. But her hands still gripped his shoulders as her blue eyes gazed towards his green eyes with intense passion.

"The Great Heavenly Dragon King: Imperator. As I've said before it is one of the strongest Teigu in existence, perhaps even greater then my Demon's Extract. The one whom wields it bears armor in the form of a dragon. Even without the armor on, the user could manipulate matter, to create and summon weapons out of thin air to their hands, cut through anything and be immune to blades. Only two people have wielded it, the first one being Emperor Jimmu, the man whom founded this Empire and a powerful war chief of his time, and who led to the creation of the Teigus themselves." Esdeath said with excitement.

Tatsumi's eyes widened in shock at the revelation, "The First Emperor wielded Imperator?" He asked in slight awe.

Esdeath nodded, still not losing the passion in her eyes for the person she loved nor the excitement of this new discovery. "And the other was a man named Sengoku, a famous general 500 years ago whose efforts ended the Great Civil War and resulted in the loss of nearly half of the Teigu. Legend says that it was form from Orichalcum, the strongest metal in history, and a Tyrant, a Dragon Ultra-Class Danger Beast who could evolve and adapt to whatever surrounding it was in. It is believe that Sengoku was the man responsible to split the Imperator into two different Teigus, in order to hide it from unworthy hands. One was Interius, the Orichalcum stone that you found in that idol. The other was a Teigu made from the Tyrant's flesh, though the name was not written. Your sword must've been that Teigu. Clearly both recognized your potential and formed Imperator once more for you to wield." She said.

If he was shocked before then Tatsumi felt frozen solid. Not so much of the fact that Imperator was made from both the strongest metal and one of the strongest Danger-Beast in history, but why Imperator felt so familiar to Incursio did. It all made sense now: Incursio was a half of Imperator, the other being Interius. And after hearing what Imperator was capable of, it made Tatsumi see why Sengoku did what he did 500 years ago. If the Teigu had fallen into the wrong hands…

His thoughts were broken as he felt cold but gentle hands wrap around his. Tatsumi looked up to see Esdeath staring at him again with love and passion thought impossible for someone as ruthless as her. "You've inherited the power and legacy of the greatest Emperor and General in history, Tatsumi. You should be proud of yourself." She said with a mixture of compassion and teasing. Still the flattery was enough to make Tatsumi blush, his cheeks turning pink.

"Uh…thanks!" He said he gave her a smile. The same smile that made Esdeath's heart flutter rapidly and make heat fill up her pale skin face.

"Well, yes!" Esdeath said as she quickly spun around to avoid his handsome face as much as she could. "Anyway here are the notes I took that talk about Imperator for you to look at." She said as she handed Tatsumi a small black notebook. "Though I should let you know that some of the words are in an ancient language that I can't translate. I however must go to the autopsy room and then meet with the Prime Minister about some things. I suggest you try and practice your new Teigu during your free time." Esdeath said rather quickly as she walked out the room, doing her best to hide her blush.

Tatsumi sweat dropped as he watched the most feared and powerful General walk away like a shy schoolgirl. Seriously, did he have that strong of an effect on her? He decided to push those thoughts aside and focus on more important matters: sending word to Night Raid about the Jaegers and learning about his new Teigu. Right now was probably Tatsumi's best chance to deliver a message to his friends. He may never get another chance like this again. He could read the book along the way too. So with that in mind, Tatsumi made his way back to Esdeath's room to write a letter of the information he would send to Night Raid, already knowing of a place to leave it: Lubbock's bookstore that was in truth Night Raid's hideout in the city.

XXX

**(With Esdeath)**

"I must thank you again Esdeath-sama. For letting me have the chance to examine the corpse of the fellow who attacked you yesterday." Dr. Stylish said as he stared over the corpse. "I can't wait to run some test on it."

Truth was that he would also rather spy on Tatsumi, whom he still had the feeling was a member of Night Raid, given how well skilled he was. But the maniac doctor could not deny the orders of his commanding officer. Besides he sent his team of reconnaissance test subjects to tail the boy if he ever left the palace.

Back to the present, Esdeath was standing on the other side of the examining table, also staring at the body intensely. The body had already been stripped of any clothing, cleaned of blood and dirt, and now laid bare, revealing a tan muscular chest, with the lower half and arms missing though. The mask from before had also been removed, revealing a relatively normal looking face except for that the eyes were completely white, no pupils whatsoever.

"I did not bring you here to fantasy on future experiments Doctor. I brought you here to help solve a question I've formed." Esdeath replied as she picked up a stack of paper from a nearby table.

"Of course" Dr. Stylish said as he greedily examined the body before pausing when he reached the end. "Well he definitely died of blood loss. However I can't say if it was before or after his lower half was cut off."

"Whether he died or not when that happen doesn't matter." Esdeath said as she trailed a slender finger near the edge of where the waist used to be. "If you look carefully you can see that a portion of the flesh has been burned. Clearly whatever the attacker used possessed powerful flames and force to cut a person in half." She then trailed her cold gaze towards where the arms use to be. "But I believe that the attacker was after the arms."

"Oh and what brought you to that theory?" Stylish asked though he already had an idea as to why. He was curious of Esdeath's reasons.

"Well frankly if the goal was to just kill the man then why take his limbs? Plus this as well" Esdeath said. She then pulled out a paper from the rest of the stack. "I looked up Teigus that matched what Wave saw and I managed to discover not just which teigu, but this person as well." She said as she showed an image. Said image was of the same person whose corpse laid before them. The only differences were that it showed the man having brown eyes and a less savage-like look.

"Sergeant Ratto?" Dr. Stylish said as he examined the picture.

"Was stationed at the eastern borders but went rogue two years ago before vanishing." Esdeath explained as she pulled out another paper. "He was also equipped with a Teigu at the time of his desertion."

The next paper had the image of a pair of dark grey, bulky arm-braces that had claws on them. Another image showed the same thing except the claws had changed into long spear-tips with chains extending from the rest of the braces. The claws now had the images of serpent-like creature. "Serpent Fang: Hydra Arm" Esdeath began. "A Teigu that allows the user to shoot spear-tipped chains with a the limit being ten. The chains can extend to a great length and can have their movement manipulated by the user. Plus the Teigu possess regenerating properties too." She then frowned. "But what bothers me was that according to Wave, Ratto shot dozens of them out of his own body. This Teigu possess no Trump Cards known to us nor should it be able to do that. Which is why I want you to run several tests on the corpse and present me with results by tonight. I unfortunately have to tend to official business for now."

"It would be my pleasure Esdeath-sama." Dr. Stylish said as he bowed towards the general. Esdeath nodded before heading out the door to unfortunately tend to her duties as a General, rather then spend time with a certain young man as she rather do.

As the doors to the autopsy closed Dr. Stylish turned his attention back to Ratto's body, a maniac grin forming on his face, his eyes alit with excitement of the research material he could acquire from the body. "Now then my friend" He said to the body, as if expecting it to be able to hear him. "Let's see what makes you tick." _'And after that I can learn more about you, Tatsumi…and this new Teigu of yours.'_ Stylish's thoughts as he began his work.

XXX

**(Unknown Location)**

Deep within the rocky mountains of an unknown island, stood a large fortress of magnificent proportions merged with the mountainside. Though history has long since forgotten its name and purpose, the inhabitants of this ancient structure have not. It was a marvelous piece of architecture, obviously constructed by an advance civilization and still appeared to be in fine shape despite having been made thousands of years ago. And it was still in use since lights could be seen in it. In one of the towers was what appeared to be a study room. It only had a few candles lighting the room plus a fireplace too. From there several voices could be heard through the darkness as people converse with one another.

"What? Ratto is dead? And his body is with the Empire?" A voice asked, male by the sound of it. It came from a red comfort chair near the fireplace, the flames illuminating the person. From what could be seen the man with a lean but muscular figure. His attire was a black, double-breasted jacket, black trousers and shoes along with a black collared shirt that covered his neck underneath and a white tie tucked into the jacket. The four buttons over the jacket's chest area, as well as the two buttons on both cuffs were a dark golden color. Over the tie was an emblem in the shape of a black trident. The person's face however was obscured, nothing but a silhouette of it could be seen. However the light showed that the man had an open book in his hands currently.

Standing across from him was another man, who looked like he was in his mid-twenties. His attire appeared to be one that a butler would wear and unlike the first man, this one's face could be seen clearly. He had a light tan skin, clean shaven face, consisting of black hair that reached his neck, combed back neatly so that it wouldn't cover his face. He had orange eyes that burned like a young sun almost, with a pair of glasses over them. The man's face showed no emotions as he spoke to the seated man. "Yes, we just learned it a few minutes ago." The butler-like man said. A pause before continuing. "What should we do? Retrieve it?"

"Dispose of it" The seated man replied, letting out a regretful sigh. He still held the book open as he continued to read it. "We can't let the Empire learn of our secrets. Plus this gives us a chance to retrieve something I've been meaning to acquire." The man said casually. "Have a team ready in the hour."

"Of course sir." The butler said calmly, as if the fact of infiltrating one of the most secured and fortified place in the world was the same as discussing about the weather. "However several are on assignments, thus we have so very few Teigus on standby: Helios, Puck, Nox, Zeal and Aestas. No more then five." The butler reported.

The seated man was silent for a moment, before turning a page in the book. "Send Nox, I believe he is suitable for the task." The man ordered.

"Understood sir" The butler bowed as he complied with the order. Then without a word he marched out of the studies, leaving the other man to his reading.

**And there we go! I hope you all enjoy this story. Next chapter we'll see some more fighting as well as Tatsumi learning a bit more of his heritage. Now as for who I am going to have killed in this story, I am still not certain. Dr. Stylish is a definite since I have plans that involve his death. Also just in case, I want you all to know I am not that good with romance scenes in case any of you were wondering.**

**Anyway, leave your reviews**

**Wacko12**


	3. Kill the History

**Okay here is chapter 3 of my story! Also will finally see some of Night Raid and their current situation. Anyway be sure to review!**

**(Night Raid Base, Evening)**

It was nighttime at the moment and all of Night Raid had gathered in the main room with Najenda sitting at her usual seat. Along with the usual members bar Tatsumi, two more people were present. They were reinforcements that Najenda had picked up from the Revolutionary Army HQ; a young redhead girl sucking on a lollipop name Chelsea and the other being Najenda's new Teigu, the biological humanoid male (much to Lubbock's chagrin) Teigu, Susanoo.

After lighting a cigarette Najenda began to speak. "Now the reason why I summoned you all here was besides meeting our new members…we've finally received word about Tatsumi's status. In the form of a letter left at our hideout in the capital, discovered by Lubbock this afternoon when he went to see if Tatsumi was there, which he wasn't." The silver haired beauty said.

That got a reaction out of everyone minus the two new members. Soon Najenda was bombarded with questions at once.

"What?"

"Is Tatsumi okay?"

"Did he escape Esdeath?"

"Why the hell didn't he just come back here?!"

"If he's still alive then we should go rescue him boss!"

"QUIET!" Najenda yelled. At that all talking stopped and the room was silent. Seeing how no one else was going to speak Najenda continued, "First off Tatsumi says he is fine and no he has not escape Esdeath. However he has given us some interesting information."

"Like what?" Mine asked.

Najenda took a long drag of her cigarette; a sign that what came next would not be received well. "According to Tatsumi, Esdeath apparently has developed romantic feelings for him and claimed Tatsumi as her lover."

The news received a long silence from…well pretty much everyone in the room. It was clear that this bit of news was not expected in the slightest. Though to be more precise it was something that they couldn't comprehend. To prove that Leone spoke up and asked in an unbelievable tone, "I'm sorry boss, but did you say that Esdeath, the sadistic, bloodthirsty, psychotic infamous General Esdeath, is in love with our Tatsumi? As in genuine love?" The Teigu belt user asked.

"Yes, that's what I just said." Najenda replied, though it was clear she was having trouble accepting it herself.

"Are you sure this is the same Esdeath? Because 'Esdeath' and 'love' don't sound right in the same sentence." Mine commented.

"Perhaps we should let the boss finish first before we jump to conclusions." Akame suggested.

"Thank you Akame." Najeneda replied. "Now as I was saying because of Esdeath's 'claim' on Tatsumi, she made him a member of the Secret Police, the Jaegers, of which she is the leader of. And due to his current position, Tatsumi managed to acquire a large amount of information on each member's Teigu, their abilities and more."

As she finished her sentence realization began to hit everyone of why Tatsumi hasn't returned yet. "So…basically Tatsumi is acting like a double agent for us?" Leone summarized. Her voice was a mix of surprise and a hint of pride for the young man's actions.

"Essentially yes." Najenda said, also quite pleased with this too.

"The information we got on their Teigus is pretty good too. We'd be in big trouble if we went in unprepared against these guys if they're a part of Esdeath's group." Lubbock added.

"Now I know many of you are concerned for him but you have to realize that what Tatsumi is doing for us is a great boon." Najenda continued. "We have never gotten anyone close enough to a high position such as this before. The information Tatsumi supplying us might be the difference between victory and defeat for the Revolutionary Army, and may very well bring us even closer to overthrowing this corrupt government. True, we might eventually clash with the Jaegers and thus Tatsumi to an extent, and I am sure he realizes this well. However we need to be strong and endure if that time should ever come if we are to succeed with our goal."

When no one tried to rebuff this she took it as a sign of understanding. "Now that that's settled I will try and see if we can make contact again with Tatsumi. Leone and Lubbock, you two will try and see if you can find him in the capital tomorrow. But don't get to close to the palace. We can't risk blowing yours or Tatsumi's cover, as you two are the only ones besides Chelsea and Susanoo here who do not have wanted posters. Understood?"

"Roger!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Good, dismissed." Najenda ended the meeting.

**(Next Morning, Imperial Palace Training Ground)**

Standing on a wide-open field in front of multiple straw dummies was Tatsumi. In his left hand was a book, which held all the notes Esdeath had acquired about Imperator earlier. After successfully delivering the letter to the vacant bookstore/hideout last night, Tatsumi decided to take the rest of the day to learn about his new Teigu. Then this morning, after an awkward awakening (for Tatsumi that is) in Esdeath's arms, followed by avoiding those blue eyes that held unusual caring and affections, Tatsumi managed to get some time to himself to practice using Imperator.

There was little information on his new Teigu. From what he read so far in the book of notes Esdeath compiled, Imperator, besides granting the user armor, immunity to bladed weapons and summoning them, allowed Tatsumi to create swords made from matter and energy, and could be any kind of sword, depending on what he wanted at the time. The sword's could be altered in terms of blade length and size as well as sharpness and hardness. A more advanced form of it was that Tatsumi could also summon swords attached to the armor, which sounded pretty cool to Tatsumi.

However just like with Incursio, Imperator's armor form depended on the user's stamina in order to wear it for an extended period of time. Not only that but the number, durability, sharpness, and size of the swords, as well as the speed of summoning them also required the user's stamina and creativity. Fortunately Tatsumi had already spent a decent amount of time training in the past in order to wear Incursio, so Tatsumi figured he would work on summoning swords for now. He wanted to make sure he got that part down so he could do it when he wore the armor or not. It made no mention of a Trump Card, or the Claymore Tatsumi could summon, but hopefully he would discover it in time.

With that in mind Tatsumi placed the book on the ground gently before raising his right hand. Feeling a familiar sensation flowing through his body, the claymore soon appeared in his awaiting palm. Its golden bronze blade gleamed as it readied for battle. And then a split second later Tatsumi launched himself at the straw dummies. The closes dummy was cut in two by the blade, with Tatsumi following it up with a backward stab to another dummy, his mind envisioning himself in an actual battle. And in that actual battle his view caught sight of an imaginary enemy charging at him from the left. In response, Tatsumi raised his left arm and vision a sword to appear. Sure enough a short sword soon materialized into his hand. Perhaps it was the fact that he had become accustomed to using this kind of weapon? Or it could be that it was the most basic form of the Teigu's abilities he could access right now. Either way the sword served Tatsumi well as it beheaded another straw dummy.

The next few minutes were a blur to Tatsumi as his green eyes dulled, his mind focus on nothing but summoning swords and bringing them down upon his targets. After a while the claymore vanished from his right hand, replaced by another short sword. He quickly beheaded two more training dummies at once before kicking one of them back and sending him up into the air. Using the momentum from the kick Tatsumi did a spin in midair while tossing the sword in his left hand. When the glowing yellow markings appeared on his body, that's when four more swords of the same type appeared in thin air, aligned evenly with the first one. Then with great strength Tatsumi swung his left arm downwards, launching all five swords at once. Each blade struck a target, the force of the impact sending each dummy down on the ground flat.

As he landed, Tatsumi's instincts went up of a presence from behind. With his mind still in battle mode, Tatsumi swung his right arm, sword still in grip, to strike the presence. It was only the sight of light blue that made Tatsumi pause his attack.

"My, my Tatsumi. Have I done something to warrant such an attack on my person?" Esdeath asked teasingly. She had her left hand up with a small shield of ice forming from it, stopping the blade. However if one would look carefully, you could see that the blade had managed to breach the ice halfway, an impressive feat, since very few weapons or people have ever been able to break Esdeath's ice. The general summarized that if Tatsumi hadn't stopped midway then the blade would've very well broken through the ice shield and reached Esdeath's flesh. A fact that excited the Empire's Strongest, as it only solidified her belief of the young warrior's potential and the power of his new Teigu.

The sudden pause of his own movements, along with Esdeath's voice, snapped Tatsumi out of his trance and returned to the present time. Pulling his blade back, the young man had a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry, got caught in the moment." Tatsumi said as the sword dispersed into light particles, followed by the other blades. This left only Tatsumi, Esdeath and a field of ruined straw training dummies. "Did you just get here?" Tatsumi inquired.

"Ah, yes I just did. I wanted to know if the book of notes I left was of any use." Esdeath said, holding said book in her hands.

Truth was that she had actually arrived a minute after Tatsumi had started. Esdeath had just finished speaking to Dr. Stylish of his report on Ratto's corpse and unfortunately the scientist hadn't found anything of interest besides the man having had his body enhanced. After that she had begun to look for Tatsumi and discovered him at the training field, thus making her pause her approach. She was curious of seeing Imperator's powers.

And what she saw amazed Esdeath; not so much of Tatsumi summoning swords out of thin air for combat, but the way the green-eyed young man moved with such finesse as he swung the blades, not even bothered of focusing on where the blades appeared. As if he already knew where and when they would come into existence. It would take a person weeks, months, even years of training to be able to use a Teigu properly. Even if the person were compatible with the Teigu then they would still need a great amount of time to master it. And yet Tatsumi had only acquired Imperator yesterday and he was able to master its basic abilities at an incredible rate. There was no labor, no thinking at all, Tatsumi merely acted of his own instincts and the blades came to him freely. She had no doubt in her mind that Tatsumi will have it mastered quickly, perhaps even by the end of the month.

But what really caught Esdeath's gaze was the look in Tatsumi's eyes as he moved about the training ground. His green eyes were no longer the bright color that sent her heart fluttering; but instead a dull green of that of an animal that was on the hunt. The look of a warrior whose only home was on the battlefield and would not stop until his enemy's blood dripped from his blade and their bodies lying on the ground before him. The glowing markings on his body only intensified the powerful aura that he gave off as he moved about. It sent a shiver of excitement up Esdeath's body, heat rushing over face and a feeling coursing through her that she had never felt before; neither in the torture chambers or in battle. It took all her willpower to push it down and to compose herself from pouncing Tatsumi and making him hers then and there.

"Yeah the book helped a lot." Tatsumi said as he moved out of Esdeath's personal space, out of politeness of course. "I was even able to understand that foreign language you mentioned too…"

Esdeath blinked, snapped out of her thoughts at that. She had not expected him to be able to read that ancient writing. She doubted that even the best translator in the Empire would be able to decipher them. "Really, you could understand it?" She asked, curious.

Tatsumi shifted a bit, feeling a bit shy under the gaze of those blue eyes. "Yeah, to be honest it took me by surprise. But when I looked at the first letter, the rest felt like a first language to me." He answered honestly, also perplexed by the fact he could read it. "Do you know where it originated from?"

Letting out a soft hum, Esdeath flipped through the book until she came upon the first page containing the writing. Once again she could not understand it at all. "The language it supposedly the words of the Atlanteans, the name used for the inhabitants of the City of Atlantis." She answered.

"Atlantis?" Tatsumi repeated. For some reason the name sounded familiar to him, though for the life of him he couldn't figure out why.

"There is little information on it in the Imperial Archives but it was supposedly a city-state that was situated on an island in the Eastern Oceans, outside the current borders of the Empire." Esdeath replied. "What is said about it is that it was the most advance civilization at the time. And the Atlanteans had a strong friendship with the First Emperor too. They are described as extraordinary people, with incredible life force, longevity and recuperative abilities. It is believed that they even possessed psychic powers and were also the main reason why the Teigus were created in the first place, as a pact of friendship between Atlantis and the Empire."

Tatsumi was silent for a moment, digesting all the information. Those people sounded incredible, especially if they were able to create incredible tools like the Teigu. However there was one thing that he had to ask, and for some reason he dreaded the answer. "W-what happened to them?"

Esdeath was silent for a moment before letting out a sigh of…regret perhaps. "Unfortunately there are no specifics, but it is said that 500 years ago, around the time when the Civil War began, the City of Atlantis was destroyed. Attacked by a combine force of both the Southern, Western and Northern nations, seeing the internal skirmish the Empire was facing at the time an opportunity too take out the threat that Atlantis posed, since it was to far from the Empire's borders. The Atlanteans were believed too have been wiped out or managed to escape and scatter across the world. The city's destruction was the main reason why our borders in the East are so small, as well as the Empire's sour relations with the tribes of the West, North, and South, since the attack was on a close ally of ours. Plus with Atlantis destroyed, along with its people, technology and history loss, it is also why the weapons of today are no matched for the Teigus of the Empire's Golden Age. I find it quite a shame to be honest. A powerful civilization such as Atlantis would've produced incredible warriors of equal standings to you and I." Esdeath said.

Tatsumi did not hear the last part as his face went down slightly, a sad look in his eyes. To hear that an entire civilization was destroyed merely because of fear was upsetting, but for him it felt a lot worse for some reason. Already he could imagine what the city looked like: A large piece of land surrounded by the blue waters of the ocean, with buildings of great height and beauty that you wouldn't be able to see anywhere else. The more he thought about it, the more the image seemed so real to Tatsumi, like he was actually there walking through the city. That only made the pain in his heart hurt more, even more then when Sayo, Ieyasu, Sheele and Bulat died.

The two were interrupted when a soldier appeared, speaking loudly to make his presence known. "Esdeath-sama!" The man said, catching the two Teigu user's attention. "I have an order from the Prime Minister for the Jaegers here." The man added as he handed out said paper to his superior.

Esdeath took it before dismissing the messenger quickly. Tatsumi watched as she read the contents quickly, her blue eyes having an intense gaze in them. Finally after a minute a small smile forming on her lips as she turned her gaze back to Tatsumi. "It seems that we've been given a good opportunity to test your Teigu in action Tatsumi." Esdeath said, obviously pleased by this, since she could now see the full capabilities of the man who captured her heart. "Get yourself clean up and then head towards the meeting room. I'll be summoning the others there shortly."

"Understood" Tatsumi said, a bit worried of what this new assignment given to the Jaegers was. His worry then turned to embarrassment as Esdeath affectionately patted his head, and then flustered as she planted a swift kiss on his cheek. Withat that Esdeath then quickly walked off as Tatsumi hurriedly made his way back to her room to clean up after his training.

**(Two Hours Later, Outside the Capital)**

The entirety of the Jaegers was now standing on top of a mountain edge, overlooking a large base down below. A high wall covered with local fauna was around the base, helping it blend easier with the forest surrounding it. Even from his position atop of the hill, Tatsumi could make out the various noises coming down below at the base.

"So this is our target?" Wave asked as he scanned the area besides Tatsumi. On his other side, Kurome was busy munching on cookies, her usual emotionless gaze on her face while looking down at the hidden base.

"That's correct" Esdeath said. "Since we have yet to find Night Raid's location, we the Jaegers will be busying ourselves cleaning up trash such as these people."

"Judging from the size of this base, it's clear that this won't be as simple as the last bandit camp we took down." Run noted as he stood next to Esdeath.

"Unlike the last group, these bandits have been reported to raid not just nearby villages but have also attacked travelers on the road towards the capital. Including convoys delivering supplies for nobles, as well as food, clothes, weapons and other materials. They've even attacked nobles and other important officials on the road too." Esdeath said. "The Prime Minister sees this as a threat to the Empire as the constant raids have left our armies low on supplies. Plus we'll lose support from several government officials and nobles at this rate."

'_So they're not with the Revolutionary Army.'_ Tatsumi thought with relief. It would've been difficult for him to fight against people affiliated with the Revolutionary Army.

"Then we must be quick and deliver justice to these evildoers!" Seryu declared. Attached to a leash around her right arm, Koro let out a growl of agreement with its master.

"This isn't the time for rash action Seryu." Esdeath said, giving said person a stern look. The orange-haired girl flinched and had the decency to look down sheepishly. "While I am not underestimating anyone's skills, there are times when you can't just charge in guns blazing, even if you have a Teigu. According to our scouts, nearly all the bandits down there are equipped with firearms. And presumably they are in the possession of a Teigu."

"Seriously?" Wave asked, astonished. It was pretty rare these days for someone who wasn't part of the Empire or Revolutionary Army to possess a Teigu. "Do we know which one it is?"

"No we do not." Esdeath replied before looking at everyone else. "The plan is that I'll remain here with Dr. Stylish to overlook the operations and come in if things get out of hand. The rest of you will split into two groups from both sides: One will consists of Run, Seryu and Bols. And the other will be Tatsumi, Wave and Kurome. Dr. Stylish's own personal army will also be moving in to back you up with their numbers."

"While they're not strong, my pawns are tough enough to take down normal human soldiers. Even if they are equipped with firearms." The Doctor added. Behind him, three very odd looking individuals could be seen.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Esdeath asked. No one had anything left to say and so with a nod from her, they dispersed and prepared for the annihilation of this bandit base. Her eyes lingered on Tatsumi as the young man descended down the mountain with Wave and Kurome. She was going to be sure to keep a close eye on him, anxiously waiting to see his true capabilities.

And she was not the only one. From behind the blue haired general, Dr. Stylish was also closely examining the brunette with sinister interest. Still holding the theory of where Tatsumi's true allegiance lied, this was now the perfect chance to see this new Teigu of his. Stylish had no doubt that it would indeed be something worthwhile if it got the great Esdeath so excited.

'_And make it all the more satisfying once I've found proof of the your affiliation with Night Raid, Tatsumi! And then finally get you onto my lab table.' _Dr. Stylish thought with sadistic glee.

He also hoped that by watching Tatsumi's Teigu in action, would help Stylish get a better understanding of why Ratto attacked Tatsumi in the first place. It was frustrating for Stylish, having literally found almost nothing out of the ordinary in Ratto's corpse. Mostly because the body was quite durable, and kept healing and repairing any incisions that he made in it, similar to a Biological Teigu's regenerating abilities. Stylish kept that part to himself, not even telling Esdeath of that. As well as a few theories that he made too, which would have to wait until he got back to his lab. But he had to admit that whoever performed the operation on the man was a genius, perhaps even greater than him. Stylish just had to find out more.

"Doctor" Esdeath's voice said, bringing Stylish back to reality, "Are your soldiers in place?" She asked.

Doing a dramatic bow, Dr. Stylish merely replied, "They await your command Esdeath-sama."

"Then let us begin." Esdeath ordered as a smile formed on her face, anxious for the carnage.

Near the bandit base, the operation was already put into effect. The first warning of an attack that the bandits received was when a barrage of feather projectiles raining down on them from the left, while swords impaled several of them. What came next was when a wave of rather oddly dressed individuals that looked like they came out of a gay-nylon fashion show, assaulted the main entrance, easily breaking through while the bandits were distracted by the first two attacks.

"Am I the only one who feels uncomfortable fighting alongside people dressed like _that_?" Tatsumi asked as he cut down another bandit with Imperator's sword form. The claymore easily cut down his opponent and broke through their weapons with ease. He would also shift to summoning other short swords to use as projectiles or for dual wielding.

"You got to make do with what you have, as they say." Wave replied, though he also wasn't so thrilled of fighting alongside Dr. Stylish's test subjects. The naval man had already donned Grand Chariot and his armored fist easily broke the bones in his opponent's bodies. Near them, Kurome was leaving a path of sliced up bodies behind her. Her blade cut through the bandit's flesh with ease and she still retained her emotionless gaze. "Besides with the way you're taking them down Tatsumi, we might be able to finish this faster then we thought." Wave added.

What he said was true. Tatsumi was easily cutting down anyone who tried to attack him. The young swordsman also noted that his senses and battle instincts were a lot sharper and stronger then before. Along with that, his own physical strength and speed that was equal to when Tatsumo wore Incursio. He had no idea if it was because of his training with Bulat and Akame or some sort of influence from Imperator, but Tatsumi paid no heed to it. He was only focus on the task before him.

Suddenly a bandit struck from behind, bringing a sword down upon Tatsumi. The young man reacted as usual, blocking the blade with his claymore. But then the bandit unveiled a hidden weapon, a long dagger in his left hand as it lunged towards Tatsumi's heart. Tatsumi's eyes widened, ignoring Wave's cries; there would be no time to block or dodge this attack.

That's when the strangest thing happened. The moment the dagger touched his body Tatsumi felt…nothing. No pain, no metal digging through his flesh, absolutely nothing at all. Curious, he was not dead; Tatsumi could see that very well. And when he looked at the bandit's face he saw that the man had a look of shock and horror, having frozen completely. Looking down Tatsumi saw why.

The dagger's blade had indeed pierced his clothing and reached his skin. But instead of blood coming out of the wound, the blade looked like it had just merely gone through Tatsumi's body. No that wasn't the right word, Tatsumi mused; it was more like the blade had _merged_ with his own body. Like water droplet becoming one with a larger mass of liquid, the blade appeared to have become one with Tatsumi's body, disappearing into it. It was then that Esdeath's words rang through his head. _'The user shall become immune to all blades.'_ Was this what she meant? Could no blade harm him now? The thought gave Tatsumi new sense of strength as he delivered a powerful kick to the bandit's stomach before cleaving the man in two.

"Imperator!" Tatsumi cried as the Teigu's sword form vanished. Seconds later the physical manifestation of a Tyrant garbed in the Imperator armor came out of the ground behind Tatsumi, with a loud roar and chains swirling in the air similar to how Incursio was summoned. This time however dozens of large double-edge swords shot out of the ground too. All of them were pointing outwards away from Tatsumi, as if they were protecting him from danger. As the Tyrant bent forward towards Tatsumi, covering his entire being from sight with its hands, the blades dispersed into golden dust and also began to spin around Tatsumi's body. His body was alight with the golden markings, followed by a bright glow, and soon Tatsumi was covered in the dragon-like armor once more. The power that pulse from it was enough to make Wave and Kurome pause as it enveloped them, before they were pushed back by a shockwave. In fact everyone, from the bandits, Dr. Stylish's army to the other Jaegers, all paused briefly as they felt a force of tremendous power overtake them.

The sensation did not last long. Still invigorated by the newfound revelation, the armored Tatsumi took to the air, performing an incredible jump that made him visible for all to see. The cape flapping behind him, spreading out like wings almost, Imperator's glowing yellow eyes shined as Tatsumi raised both his arms. And in doing so, summoned dozens of longswords on both sides, the blades pointing downwards. Then with incredible speed, Tatsumi brought his arms downwards, launching the blades with amazing force, as if fired from a cannon. Several buildings were destroyed by the impacts of the blades while dozens of bandits were cut down, the blades ripping through their flesh with ease as they flew.

"Holy shit!" Wave yelled as armored eyes widened as he watched Tatsumi's spectacle. Beside him even Kurome looked up in surprise, her emotionless look having broken upon watching the event.

"Amazing…" Esdeath murmured as she watched with widened eyes at Tatsumi's actions. Even from her position on top of the mountain edge, she did not need binoculars to see the brunette's performance. The power that pulse from the armor's summoning engulfed her body with an overwhelming sensation, something that she had never felt before. This was the first time that she felt overpowered before and it both shocked and excited her from the fact that it came from her lover. Her excitement only grew as she witnessed Tatsumi's forming swords from nothing and demolishing the enemy forces with ease. "You truly are wonderful Tatsumi…" She whispered as she felt heat rise over her face. Truly Tatsumi was the only person in the world who could keep surprising her like this. She did not even notice Dr. Stylish watching Tatsumi's spectacle with a calculative gaze.

Tatsumi soon landed on the ground gracefully and without even stopping, charged forward, his cape flapping in the wind besides him. The nearby bandits began to shake with fear and self-preservation as the armored young man headed towards him.

"God damn it! Shoot him! Shoot him hurry!" A bandit shouted frantically to his comrades, his gun raised.

But they never had a chance to do so. Tatsumi had moved to quick for them to react. One by one Tatsumi cut down the bandits as he now carried two swords, one in each hand. Behind him, Wave and Kurome were coming up from the rear, cutting down any stragglers. Also judging from the screams, explosions and flames from the opposite of the base, the other group was probably doing okay too.

"Damn, and I thought that Teigu was impressive before…" Wave muttered as he delivered an armored punch to another bandit, breaking the man's neck. "I don't think Tatsumi will really need our help if he can do stuff like that."

"True" Kurome said as she ran alongside Wave. "Of course now we'll never know if you'll be of use or not." She said the last part teasingly, yet somehow retained her neutral expression.

It was that moment that Wave performed an impressive face plant as his armored head hit the floor right on target. Kurome ignored it however, continuing to follow after Tatsumi. She also chose to remain oblivious to the glare and comical tears coming from Wave's armored eyes.

"Damnit! You were just waiting for that weren't you Kurome!?" Wave cried in anguish as he chased after her. He did not see the small smile form on the assassin's lips due to her back facing him. They were so distracted by their banter that they didn't sense the presence behind them until Tatsumi yelled.

"LOOK OUT!" The brunette shouted to them. Wave and Kurome turned around to see a beam of air flying towards them. The two Jaegers managed to jump out of the way just in time as the blast struck the ground, creating a shockwave upon impact. It also sent Wave and Kurome crashing into nearby buildings. Tatsumi was about to go and check on them when another blast of air stopped him.

Tatsumi quickly spotted the attacker. Standing on a nearby roof was a tall, muscular, tan skin man with a rather unattractive face that looked slightly familiar to Ogre's. Except this man had two scars running across his entire face. He also wore a sleeveless black flak jacket, grey pants and black trench boots. Clearly this man was the leader of these bandits. But what caught Tatsumi's attention was the object the man was holding. It looked like a large silver bazooka was resting on the man's right shoulder and was emitting smoke from the opening. The back of the weapon also had an opening but was a little bit smaller then its counterpart. The large man was gripping the bazooka with both hands. The appearance of the weapon made it obvious to Tatsumi of what it was. _'That must be the Teigu that Esdeath mentioned.'_

"Die you fucking bastard!" The bandit leader cried as he aimed the bazooka towards Tatsumi. Air was sucked in quickly from the back opening of the weapon, and a few seconds later it was released from the front barrel as a powerful blast of compressed air, straight towards Tatsumi. He managed to dodge it though, and the blast went through the building behind him. Tatsumo noted that the blast had left scorch marks where it had hit the building.

'_So not only does it sucks in air and fires it as a projectile, but also heats it up to melt anything it hits!'_ Tatsumi summarized as he dodged another shot from the bandit leader.

"Ha, Ha, Ha! No one can beat me! No one can beat my Hot Airwave: War Cry!" The bandit leader shouted in glee as he continued firing blast after blast of air at Tatsumi. He might have been saying that, but his attacks were barely hitting Tatsumi. Having already trained extensively to master Incursio and later Imperator, Tatsumi's speed was enough to avoid the air bullets, with the armor boosting his agility. Despite the firepower, Tatsumi could tell that he could easily cut through these air bullets with ease and figured that playtime was over.

Shooting himself from the ground, Tatsumi charged towards the bandit leader with a sword formed in his hand. The bandit fired another air bullet, this one larger then the others. In response Tatsumi raised his right arm. _'Focus Tatsumi, focus on a blade long enough and strong enough to cut both the attack and the enemy at once!'_ Tatsumi thought to himself as an extremely long bladed sword in his hand.

The blade was long enough that it was three times the size of a normal human being. Gripping the blade with both hands, Tatsumi swung the large blade downwards. The results were instant; he managed cut through the large air bullet with ease. But also because of the blade's length, Tatsumi also bisected the man in half, right down the middle. The two halves hit the ground at the same time, with the bazooka Teigu following right behind them. The impact also spilt the building the man was on in half too.

As the sword dematerialized, Tatsumi noticed something odd. Inside the now split building a large iron box, a cage of some sort, could be seen within, with a door and opening to boot. Curious, but not turning of Imperator, Tatsumi slowly made his way inside to get a better look. As he did he noticed that at the bottom of the cage were wheels. Said wheels were being held in place by blocks while several chains were attached to the cage and connected to the surrounding walls. Clearly this cage was meant to be use as transportation. Getting closer, Tatsumi was able to make out the noise of what sounded like a cross between a growl and a whimper. Looking through the opening, Tatsumi saw something that shocked him.

Inside the cage was the largest wolf Tatsumi had ever seen. It had to be the same size as a horse but since it was lying on its belly, Tatsumi assumed that the wolf could be even bigger. The large creature was covered in a coat of dark brown fur with a large fluffy tail that looked like it could knock someone's head clean off. From what Tatsumi could see, the wolf's claws were also very big too, and could probably go toe to toe with a Danger Beast. The most curious part was, however, that the wolf had the most amazing pair of silver-colored eyes with black slit-pupils. The color reminded Tatsumi a full moon at night.

A noise from the wolf snapped Tatsumi's from his daze. It was then that the young man noticed that the wolf had collars around its neck and wrists, all of them attached to chains. It was obvious that the wolf was uncomfortable with its current predicament, as it was constantly pulling against the restraints, but to no avail. The wolf also looked severely weakened, since Tatsumi presumed that normally, it would've been able to break free.

Taking pity, Tatsumi easily tore the door from its hinges and slowly made his way towards the beast. Sensing his presence, the wolf snapped its head towards the armored warrior. It let out a threatening growl towards Tatsumi. Tatsumi halted his steps, not wanting to make any sudden movements that might upset the large animal.

"Easy there" Tatsumi said calmly, as if expecting the wolf to understand human language. The green-eye assassin raised his hands before him, trying to calm the wolf. "I'm not going to hurt you. All I'm going to do is open these collars, okay? I just want to get you out." Tatsumi tried to reason.

Eventually the wolf lowered its growl, as if understanding that Tatsumi meant no harm. Its body relaxed but its silver eyes still lingered on the brunette. Seeing how it wasn't going to bite him, Tatsumi continued making his way towards the wolf. Then with a quick tug, he snapped the collars off the wolf easily. He then moved back outside the cage as the wolf followed him out.

As it landed on its feet, Tatsumi saw that the wolf was indeed _larger_ then a horse, now that it could stand properly again. After doing some stretches and shaking its fur, the wolf turned its moon-like eyes back to Tatsumi's armored covered face. The two stood in silence for what felt like an eternity, both studying one another intently. Then the wolf cocked its head to the side, as if thanking Tatsumi, and took off, most likely finding the quickest exit from the camp. As Tatsumi watched it leave, he was surprise to see the wolf _jump_ over the buildings with relative ease as it headed towards the forest. "I wonder what kind of species that was anyway?" Tatsumi asked himself, since there was no way that wolf of that size could be anything but a Danger Beast.

His attention shifted elsewhere though as he heard multiple voices cry out in shock and pain. Looking up a large ball of ice had formed above the base, before shattering into multiple of large shards of ice. The shards fell downwards, destroying buildings and crushing/skewering bandits. It was not hard to tell who was responsible, as said person slid elegantly down the nearest ice shard towards him, her long blue hair flowing against the breeze behind her. Esdeath walked towards him, a wide smile on her face, showing her perfect white teeth and her eyes filled with pride with Tatsumi's performance. After feeling Imperator's power and Tatsumi's performance of slaughtering multiple bandits, Esdeath had decided to finish the mission up so she could quickly congratulate her lover.

"Was that really necessary?" Tatsumi asked through Imperator's helmet. He had yet to deactivate it in case of an ambush.

"There were very few bandits left thanks to you and the others. So I figure that I just clean up the leftovers quickly." Esdeath said, easily shrugging it off as she reached him. Immediately she began examining the armor with the blue eyes, greedily taking in the form of one of the most powerful Teigu, much to Tatsumi's discomfort. Slowly she moved her slender fingers across the material, taking in its unusual texture. Despite it covering his body, Tatsumi shivered a bit as if he was actually feeling her cold, pale fingers.

"Such an interesting texture it has, this armor." Esdeath commented as her fingers ran down the right arm. "It feels almost alive but still so powerful." She whispered. It was true, for someone such as Esdeath, whose senses were well tune; being near Imperator covered her senses and body with a wave of amazing power. And merely touching it covered her in the heat of said power, making Esdeath's urges for Tatsumi even greater.

The moment, however, was cut off when the two heard a familiar voice. "Commander!"

Looking to the sky, Esdeath and Tatsumi could see the blonde hair Jaeger, Run, flying towards them, his winged Teigu spread out widely. He gracefully landed before the two, the wings folding within the pair of golden disks attached to Run's back. Bowing towards his leader right away, Run gave his report. "Commander, Seryu, Bols and I have finished eliminating the bandits on our side. They have gone off to assist Stylish's men to eliminate the survivors. I came here to see what the progress was and give aid if necessary." Run reported.

"Well done Run" Esdeath said as she turned her attention towards the former schoolteacher. "But as you can see, Tatsumi's group have already eliminated the bandits here. And Tatsumi himself has just dealt with their leader easily." Esdeath said as she affectionately patted the armored helm Tatsumi wore over his head. The young man had yet to deactivate the Teigu since he didn't want to be taken by surprise while still in enemy territory.

"I see" Run said as he looked around, taking note of the large number of bandits lying across the area, dead as a doorknob. "And where are Wave and Kurome?"

"Right here!" A familiar voice shouted.

The three turn around and saw Wave approaching them. Lying against his back was Kurome, who had her arms wrapped around Wave's neck while the navy man's arms were holding her legs. There was a large gash on her left leg with some bandages wrapped around it, used for a hasty first aid. The younger sister of Akame had her head hidden behind Wave's, clearly embarrassed of being seen like this. Yatsufusa was being held in Kurome's left hand too.

"That bastard got us pretty good. I managed to come out fine because I had Grand Chariot on. Kurome banged up her leg pretty badly though." Wave explained as he finally reached his comrades.

"I told you, its not that serious." Kurome mumbled, but still loud enough for the others to hear. She tried a futile attempt of getting down, but Wave pretty much had a secured grip to her legs.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that." Wave said to the young assassin. "And the fact that you could barely walk when I found you completely backs up your claim too." He added sarcastically, ignoring the glare from Kurome. Though he did wince a bit as the girl managed to retaliate with a light headbutt to the back of Wave's head.

"Well in either case, this mission was a complete success." Esdeath stated, getting everyone's attention. "Let us return to the capital with our prize now, shall we?"

She then effortlessly picked up the bazooka Teigu, Wary Cry, with just one hand, before depositing to several of Dr. Stylish's minions that had appeared. The rest of the Jaegers, plus Tatsumi who had finally deactivated Imperator, followed the General. As he followed the others, Tatsumi couldn't help but realize that this was his first mission as a Jaeger, not as a member of Night Raid. He'd just hope that future events would be as easy as this one, though he learned already that life was never easy, especially in a position like his.

**And there's the third chapter! What do you guys think? Anyway a sneak preview for the next chapter is that it will be showing a battle happening **_**inside**_** the Imperial Palace and involving the forces of the mysterious man from the last chapter against the Jaegers, Tatsumi, and the Royal Guards. Hoped you liked my idea of the city of Atlantis too. Be sure to review!**

**Wacko12**


	4. Kill the Invasion Part 1

**So here is chapter 4. Also for those of you concern with Tatsumi getting strong to fast, don't worry. The release of power from Imperator is only when he first activates it, he still isn't as strong as Esdeath yet. But…well the rest you have to see as the story progresses. Anyway, in this chapter we meet the first member of the hidden group. Read, enjoy and review!**

**(Afternoon Outskirts of the Capital)**

"So this is the Capital? The center of the strongest Empire in history?" A figure said as he looked at said city from a top of a mountain edge. The sun setting from behind the palace gave the city an illuminating appearance. "Not as impressive as I thought it would be."

Said person, a male, was completely covered in a dark green trench coat that went all the way down to his ankles. His hands were tucked into the coat pockets and a hood stuck out from underneath the coat, covering the man's head. He was completely hidden from the world. But you could see that the man had no footwear. Instead his feet appeared to be made from a metallic-like material.

Behind the man was a large group of cloaked people. These people were tall, around 6 feet and lean-muscular builds could be seen under the cloaks. Covering their bodies were red, ankle-length cloaks with hoods covering their heads. The sound of metal clanking as the wind breezed past them could be heard. One of the hooded giants stepped forward towards the person at the front.

Bending forward a bit, the larger being whispered something into the coat wearing persons' ear. Said person was silent for a moment, before a chuckle came out of the hood. "I see," He said. "Please go and take care of it." He ordered the larger man. Said person nodded before dashing off with three others.

The coat wearing man turned to look back at the city. "I guess its time we paid the palace a visit. Hopefully are contact will be at the rendezvous, otherwise this is going to get messy." He said before jumping over the ledge down to the forest below. Soon the rest of the cloaked beings followed suit, none saying a single word as they headed towards the Capital. None of them, however, seemed to have noticed a pair of yellow eyes sticking out from a nearby bush, watching the large force descend.

"I've got to tell the boss about this." Leone muttered as she watched the last of the cloaked people disappear. Clad in her teigu, the catwoman dashed off back to the Night Raid base at superhuman speed. However the assassin was unware that she _herself_ was being watched, by the four cloaked men that had vanished a moment ago. Three vertical yellow glowing lines could be seen through their hoods, following Leon's movements before taking off.

But none of them, the small army, Leone, or her stalker, were aware of a third party that was watching them. From an edge not too far away, a familiar large wolf watched the whole show with its silver eyes. As it switched its attention from the army towards Leone and back to the Capital, the wolf finally moved. With smooth agility, the wolf darted down the mountain, heading straight towards the city.

**(Imperial Palace)**

"Again!" Esdeath exclaimed as she shot a barrage of ice shards towards Tatsumi. Said person was clad in Imperator, a sword in each hand as he used them to deflect the projectiles. The blades batted the ice with ease, but it left Tatsumi wide open to a kick to the right. Esdeath's strength was enough that it sent Tatsumi skidding several feet back across the ground. Despite wearing nigh-impervious armor, that kick was enough to make Tatsumi flinch, a testament to Esdeath's strength. The title "Empire's Strongest" was well suited for her.

Ever since the destruction of the bandit fortress, Esdeath had been dead set on seeing more of Imperator's, and thus in extension, Tatsumi's, capabilities. The pulse of power she had felt, though brief, during the Teigu's activation, nearly overwhelmed the Ice General. Even now, she could feel the blood of Demon Extract tingling at the short sensation Imperator gave out when Tatsumi donned the armor. It was an experience Esdeath had never felt before, that brief moment of being overpowered. However at the same time it excited her, and solidified her belief that Tatsumi was indeed the only man for her.

Of course, Esdeath knew there was room for improvement. Despite the display of power earlier, Imperator still possessed many hidden skills, waiting to be unlocked. And Esdeath was determined to push Tatsumi to the limit in order to do so. He was very skilled at the moment, having been able to last longer then anyone that has sparred with her, but he still had a little more to go before he reached her level.

Back in the present, Tatsumi extended the talons on his armored feet, gaining a foothold in the ground. Using the momentum, he shot himself forward at an impressive speed towards Esdeath. The dual short swords clashed against Esdeath's long rapier, both combatants trying to overpower the other.

'_His reaction time has increased greatly.'_ Esdeath thought with pleasure. Of course a part of it was because she could not strike at Tatsumi with her sword. Her bladed weapon would have no effect on the armor due to Imperator's ability and most likely be absorbed. Despite it being a disadvantage, it actually excited the Ice Queen. Handicaps and other unforeseen circumstances merely made battle more fun for Esdeath, as it gave her greater pleasure in crushing her enemies, overcoming whatever advantage they had. For the current situation, she would use her rapier for defense, while using hand-to-hand combat and ice for offense.

Tatsumi performed a thrust, which Esdeath was easily able to parry with her rapier. Than with a single flick of her finger, a pillar of ice shot out of the ground between the two. Tatsumi was force back but at the same time, he showed an act of creativity. Extended the talons on his right foot, Tatsumi gripped the block of ice with the blades. Following that, he used surprisingly great leg strength and tore a large chunk of the ice off from the ground. Using the momentum from that, Tatsumi performed a spin before releasing the chunk of ice towards Esdeath.

Esdeath was taken by surprise of that unorthodox tactic, but it did not last long. Seeing how she created the ice, she merely snapped her fingers and the ice dissipated into ice dust. However as she did that, Tatsumi lunged at her, both of his blade posed to strike. Esdeath merely stepped back, getting out of the blades' range.

'_Damn it!' _Tatsumi cursed as he realized his plan failed. He then had to dodge several ice projectiles fired from Esdeath. _'If only I could summon a longer sword like I did with that bandit. Even then it would have to be strong enough to cut her ice.'_ Tatsumi thought angrily. Upon his return from the bandit camp, Tatsumi had been trying to summon a sword longer from the usual shortswords he's been doing. But so far he had no success, that incident was more like Tatsumi was following his instincts.

_If you wish for such a sword, forge it._

Tatsumi blinked, startled by the sudden voice that he almost lost his footing but managed to recover. _'Where did that voice come from?'_

_Forge your desired sword, fuse the ones you hold and. Your hands are the tongs, the chisel and the hammer, your will is the anvil, and your soul is the furnace. Forge the sword and fight!_

Still unsure of where this voice was, Tatsumi decided to follow its advice. "Fuse Sword," Tatsumi muttered as he connected the blades together and envisioned the blade he needed. They began to glow briefly as he launched himself at Esdeath again. This time Tatsumi no longer had two shortswords, but a single longsword.

The new weapon had caught Esdeath off guard. No time to dodge it, she summoned a pillar of ice between her and the blade. She had confidence that her ice would be able to block Tatsumi's blade.

As Tatsumi swung his sword towards Esdeath and the pillar of ice, the voice spoke again. _To break the unbreakable, your sword must be strong, durable, and possess a sharp edge. You must…_

"Charge Sword," Tatsumi whispered. As those words left his lips, yellow glowing lines could be seen running up the blade, disappearing as they reached the tip. And when the sword struck the ice pillar it did not stop. Instead the blade cut all the way through, as if its hardness and sharpness increased. Again, Esdeath was surprised, but this time she could not react quickly enough. As time seemed to slow down, Esdeath's honed battle instincts came into play, as she managed to avoid taking a full blow. However the blade's tip touched her left arm, tearing through her black sleeve and leaving a gash on her flesh. Not deep enough to cut the limb off, but enough for blood to seep out.

Esdeath took several steps back, giving her distance between herself and Tatsumi. Said person still gripped his sword with both hands. His head was down, as if looking at the blade.

The blue-haired beauty took a moment to look at her left arm, watching the small trickle of blood, _her_ blood, sliding down her arm from the thin cut. She was no stranger to blood of course, but Esdeath cannot even remember the last time she had seen her own blood. Hell, she can't even recall the last time someone managed to even scratch her. Slowly, she slid her delicate fingers across the wound she felt a sense of excitement replacing shock. Her first wound since becoming a general, and delivered from her lover!

Her instincts went up again and she saw Tatsumi rush at her, another longsword in hand. Immediately Esdeath wave her rapier, their blades clashing violently. This time it was different. Tatsumi was no longer on the defensive now. Esdeath's rapier seemed almost useless against the blades of Tatsumi's weapon and that only made this more exciting for the Ice Queen. Now fully immerse in their duel, Esdeath held nothing back as their blows met, small shockwaves that soared through the air and sent dust flying.

Eventually Esdeath finally managed to find an opening. As Tatsumi performed a downward strike, Esdeath gracefully dodge the strike before following it up with a spin, her right leg out. The heel struck the silver blade with enough force to send it flying out of Tatsumi's hands. Esdeath was about to follow it up with a kick to the chest when her ears caught Tatsumi muttered some words.

"Equip Sword: Arm" And suddenly a large curved, wicked-looking, blade formed on the left arm of Imperator's form. The now bladed arm came down upon Esdeath. However said General reacted with greater reflexes. Blocking the blow with her rapier, she then summoned a large ice pillar that sprung out of the ground between them. Since the gap between the two warriors was so close, Esdeath was pushed back a bit by her own creation, but managed to gracefully halt her fall. Tatsumi however, had his left arm smacked to the side, with the rest of his armored covered body flung backwards. Unlike Esdeath, his landing was less graceful, hitting the ground back first.

In a last ditch effort Tatsumi summoned three more longswords in the air. He then shot them forward as if fired from a pistol. The blades soared through the air straight towards Esdeath. General however, easily managed to block them, but the force of the blades managed to knock her own weapon out of her hands, wounding her hand in the progress, blood already dripping from the wound. After that Tatsumi lost conscious, Imperator dispersing as his body landed on the ground softly.

Esdeath was automatically by his side, not even paying attention to the swords as they dispersed into dust around her. She knelt down beside Tatsumi and checked him over for any serious damage. However she found none and soon her worries were replaced by excitement of the spar that took place just moments ago. It had been forever since she was in such an intense battle. But for now she had to focus on getting Tatsumi back to their quarters. So with unusual gentle care, Esdeath placed Tatsumi on her back and made her way back inside the palace.

**(Capital, Market Area)**

Run walked at a leisurely pace, observing the bustling of activities around him. It truly amazed him in a way: Here around him people were moving about without a care in the world, while at the same time, other places of the Empire are suffering from the greed and cruelty of corrupt leaders. It made Run wonder if the citizens of the Capital were even aware of what was happening to the thousand-year old empire, or simply chose to ignore it. The former teacher's thoughts drifted back to why he was originally here, the images of his dead students filling his mind before he shook it off.

It was a stroke of luck he had managed to be invited to join the Jaegers, a unit led by Esdeath, the infamous sadistic General, dubbed "The Empire's Strongest." Of course Run was well aware that the unit was under the command of Honest, the corrupt Prime Minister. And it was a good chance that the Jaegers would be performing less savory missions. But that did not blind Run to the advantage of his current position. From within, he could begin to change the Empire, routing out the weeds that was causing the Thousand-Year Old Empire to slowly decay.

His thoughts soon shift towards his teammates. Run's opinions on them differ from each one, meaning which ones he could trust the most. Wave and Bols were in the okay in Run's books, with the latter being a prime example of never judging a book by its covers. The two of them clearly cared for the Empire's people and their loves ones, though Wave seemed a bit oblivious to the Capital's corruption, having been so far away in the Navy. Then there was Kurome, an Imperial Assassin and younger sister to Night Raid member, Akame. In her case, Run had to pity the girl. She had been sold by her parents at a young age and trained as an assassin, never given a true childhood and changing her mindset. Her sister's defection probably did not help either and seemed to have made Kurome fall under the belief that by making people into her puppets, they would stay with her forever. Still, Run could see there was some humanity within the young assassin. The last two were Seryu and Dr. Stylish, the two that Run was most wary of, after Esdeath of course. Seryu had a good heart in serving justice, but her black and white view of the world made her quite unstable from what Run could tell. And Run flat out distrusted Dr. Stylish…for multiple reasons besides his flamboyant personality.

Run's musings were cut off when something, or someone, caught his attention. A good distance away, Run could see a person completely covered in a black cloak, walking through the streets. Their presence seemed to have gone unnoticed by the people around them, a testament to their skills of concealing oneself. But Run's eyes were able to catch glimpses of the person. The blonde Teigu user could sense an aura that made him uneasy. Deciding to follow his instincts, Run followed the cloak person quietly.

After walking past several buildings, the cloaked figure made a turn into an alleyway. Quickening his pace, Run hurried after his target. But when he entered the alleyway, the Jaeger was met with no sight of the cloaked person whatsoever. It was as if the person disappeared into thin air. Cautiously Run entered the alleyway, constantly moving his head side to side and even upwards. If someone was going to lay a trap, this was the right place to do it, which was why Run was prepared.

What he was not ready for however, was a hand grab his left arm and another hand press a dagger to his neck. Surprised by the unexpected presence, Run nearly walked right into the blade.

"Don't move or speak if you want to live." The cloaked person, a male from the voice, said behind Run, his dagger pressing a bit more into the blonde's neck.

'_Where did he even come from? I didn't even hear his footsteps.' _Run thought to himself. But he kept calm and made no movement or noise until he could think up of a plan.

"You're Run of the Jaegers, are you not?" The cloaked man asked.

Run said nothing nor tried to look at the person, but slowly nodded in response. The man continued speaking. "We know all about you, and the rest of the Jaegers and Night Raid." Run's eyes widened a little at that piece of information. "And you should know that in a few hours, the Imperial Palace will be attacked."

Run's eyes widened at that, just as he felt the dagger moving away from his neck and the pressure on his arm leaving. Spinning around, Run did not see his the mysterious man. Only an empty alley greeted him, with a neatly folded paper lying on the ground before his feet. Slowly Run picked up the piece of paper. Making sure no one else was around he quickly placed it into his pocket before activating his Teigu and took to the air, back to the palace.

**(Back at the palace)**

Night had already come, the moon shining over the Imperial Palace. Already night patrols could be seen moving around. The heavily armed Imperial Guards were staying ever watchful of any possibility of intruders breaching the palace.

In one of the inner courtyards of the palace, six guards could be seen moving as they surveyed the area. Just before they were about to move on, one of the guards stopped. "Hey look" He said as he pointed.

The others looked in the direction of where the first guardsman was pointing. Walking through the outer hallway opposite of them was the hooded trench coat wearing man, walking as if he owned the place. He seemed to pay no heed to the six guards across from him, either ignoring them or not noticing them. The guards immediately walked over to him, weapons at the ready.

"Halt!" Shouted the guard who had spotted the man. "Who are you and how did you get inside the palace?"

The hooded man seemed to ignore the guard as he kept walking. That only seemed to anger the guardsman even more. "I said identify yourself!" The guard shouted as he reached out to grab the man.

But just as he was about to touch him, the guard suddenly burst into flames from the inside of his armor. His fellow guardsmen watched in shock as he was burned to death instantly, not even given time to scream. The hooded man had one of his hands out as it happened. "What the hell?!" Another guard, who was the closes to the one that just died, shouted. He readied his spear and was about to attack before his entire body was encased in ice. Eventually the frozen guard's body shattered into millions of pieces.

The four remaining guards managed to compose themselves and were about to attack. However they were swiftly cut down at the hands of several of the cloaked men. With the six guards dead, the remaining cloaked men appeared from the rooftops.

"Nox-sama, we await your orders." One of the tall cloaked men said to the trench coat person.

"Good" The now revealed Nox said as he removed his trench coat. With the garment gone, Nox's body was now fully revealed. His entire form was in a dark blue full-body suit that covered him from head to toe. Over his body were onyx armored pieces, which covered his fingers, palms, shoulders, elbows, chest, waist, groin, thighs, knees and feet, with all of them connected to one another by black tubes running across his body. Over his head was a blank black helmet, that covered his face completely. "Now you boys know what to do." Nox ordered as he raised his right hand. Doing so revealed an eye on the palm of is hand.

As one the men removed their hoods from their faces. Doings so revealed that each one were wearing identical silver helmets with visors that had three slits that glowed yellow. The rest of their bodies were also covered in matching silver armor and they all had longswords in their hands. Hanging from their shoulders were red capes. "Executing orders. Commence assault." They all said in unison with monotone voices.

**And thus the battle within the Imperial Palace commence. Next chapter we will see Nox facing against the Jaegers, the true identity of the mysterious wolf, as well as some more surprises. Sorry it took so long by the way, I had to make some changes to certain things since I wasn't fully please at first with the three first chapters, especially concerning Tatsumi's Teigu. Be sure to review!**

**Wacko12**


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